Preamble
I have an
ongoing project that involves putting my own English as a Second
Language (ESL) teacher tools together on a blog site.
I was
about to tackle conditionalsg when I decided
I didn't have the mental energy and instead started this enquiry into
the idiomg
It takes one to know one
For
some time I've been pondering this idiom and been amazed at how
appropriate and relevant it is even though I haven't used it or heard
it used since I was a child.
My
2 centsg
-
Meaning
The
person who expressed criticism has similar faults to the person being
criticized1.
For example:
John:
“You're a terrible cook!”
Jane:
“It takes one to know one!”
Jane is
implying that John is also a terrible cook.
Origin
Despite
trying various meta-search enginesg
there seems to be very little information on the Web alluding to the
origin of this idiom.
The
best link
I could find quoted the following:
“This
classic retort to an insult dates from the early 1900s. … First
recorded in 1665, it remains current.” 1
Comments
on the Web
It's
hardly surprising that I'm not the first person to contemplate this
idiom and it's remaining as relevant today as when it was first
coinedg.
To
read what other people have to say check out these links:
Glossary
2
cents
|tuː
sɛnts| idiom
Used
to preface the tentative stating of one’s opinion.
coin
|kɔɪn| verb
To
invent or devise (a new word or phrase).
conditional
|kənˈdɪʃ(ə)n(ə)l| grammar
Grammar
(of
a clause, phrase, conjunction, or verb form) expressing a condition.
Common structure: if
<condition> (then) <action>
idiom
|ˈɪdɪəm| noun
A
group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible
from those of the individual words.
meta-search
engine noun
meta
|ˈmɛtə|
Metasearch
engines enable users to enter search criteria once and access several
search engines simultaneously.
Word
definitions have been stolen from the New Oxford American Dictionary,
wikipedia.org and Webster's 1913 Revised Unabridged Dictionary.
Bibliography
1
The
American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by
Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992
Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All
rights reserved.
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