# cast the first stone

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/cast-the-first-stone
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To act self-righteously in accusing another person, believing oneself to be blameless.

## 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.

## 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.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.