stone

be carved (or set or written) in stone be fixed and unchangeable.

☞ The reference here is to the biblical Ten Commandments, written on tablets of stone by God and handed down to Moses on Mount Sinai (Genesis 31:18).

cast (or throw) the first stone be the first to accuse or criticize.

☞ The phrase comes from an incident recorded in St John's Gospel. A group of men preparing to stone an adulterous woman to death were addressed by Jesus with the words: 'He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her' (John 8:7).

have kissed the blarney stone: seeblarney.

heart of stone: seeheart.

leave no stone unturned try every possible course of action in order to achieve something.

like getting blood out of (or from) a stone: seeblood.

a rolling stone: seerolling.

stone me! (or stone the crows!) an exclamation of surprise or shock. British informal

a stone's throw a short distance.

1989Joanna TrollopeVillage Affairs Can't tell you the difference it will make, having you a stone's throw away.

throw stones criticize someone or something.

☞ This expression is often used with reference to the proverbial saying those who live in glass houses should not throw stones, the earliest variant of which is recorded in the mid 17th century.