Word.ws English Dictionary

it takes one to know one

it takes one to know one proverb: expressing the same underlying character-judgment themes as pot calling the kettle black or set a thief to catch a thief.

Proverb

it takes one to know one

  1. (idiomatic) Expressing the same underlying character-judgment themes as pot calling the kettle black or set a thief to catch a thief.
    • They hired the most devious scammers they could find and paid them quite well to do some red-team work, because it takes one to know one.
  2. (childish, colloquial) A retort to a negative accusation, implying that the accuser shares the fault.
    • Bob: You're an idiot!
    • Tony: Takes one to know one!

Examples of it takes one to know one in a sentence

  • There's an unkind saying that it takes one to know one, and it's almost true.1949, Nial Kent, The Divided Path, page 358:
  • Anyone who appreciates Shakespeare as this author unquestionably does is another Shakespeare — it takes one to know one!1947, Poet Lore, page 280:

Forms of it takes one to know one

alternative formtakes one to know one

Questions about it takes one to know one

What does it takes one to know one mean?
It takes one to know one means expressing the same underlying character-judgment themes as pot calling the kettle black or set a thief to catch a thief.
How do you use it takes one to know one in a sentence?
There's an unkind saying that it takes one to know one, and it's almost true.
What part of speech is it takes one to know one?
It takes one to know one is a proverb.

Words near it takes one to know one in the dictionary

  1. it takes a village to raise a child
  2. it takes all kinds
  3. it takes all kinds to make a world
  4. it takes all sorts
  5. it takes all sorts to make a world
  6. it takes one to know one
  7. it takes two to make a quarrel
  8. it takes two to quarrel
  9. it takes two to tangle
  10. it takes two to tango
  11. it took Nixon to go to China

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: it takes one to know one (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-it takes one to know one.wav.

Cite this entry: “it takes one to know one.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/it_takes_one_to_know_one. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.