Idiom
cast the first stone
Meaning
To act self-righteously in accusing another person, believing oneself to be blameless.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Do not cast the first stone if you have made mistakes too.”
“Before you criticize his poor performance, remember that you should not cast the first stone.”
“In a society where everyone has their own hidden flaws, it is rarely appropriate for anyone to cast the first stone against a neighbor.”
Examples
simple
“Do not cast the first stone if you have made mistakes too.”
contextual
“Before you criticize his poor performance, remember that you should not cast the first stone.”
complex
“In a society where everyone has their own hidden flaws, it is rarely appropriate for anyone to cast the first stone against a neighbor.”
Origin
The phrase is drawn from John 8, where a woman caught in adultery is brought to Jesus by accusers demanding she be stoned under the law. Rather than rule directly, he answers in John 8:7: let the one among them who is without sin cast the first stone. One by one the crowd drifts away, oldest first, until no accuser is left. The scene turns the question of judgement back on the judges.
Stoning here is literal, but the rhetorical move is what English kept: before you punish a fault in someone else, examine your own. The first stone is the one that starts the punishment, and the challenge is whether you are clean enough to throw it.
To cast the first stone now means to be the first to accuse or condemn, almost always with the implication that the accuser is in no position to. It is the standard rebuke to hypocritical criticism.
Key words
Related idioms
Stories
The Life & Teachings of Jesus · See all Biblical origin
The Gospels and the Sermon on the Mount.
the salt of the earth — Good, honest, dependable people who lack pretension.
a wolf in sheep's clothing — A dangerous or hostile person who hides behind a harmless, friendly appearance.
go the extra mile — To make an extra effort; to do a particularly good job.
turn the other cheek — To accept punishment or injury without retaliating.
the blind leading the blind — A situation in which someone incompetent is guiding others who are equally incompetent.
the eye of a needle — A standard for something so difficult it is all but impossible to pass or achieve.
- Updated