Word.ws English Dictionary

takes one to know one

takes one to know one is the alternative form of it takes one to know one.

Meaning of it takes one to know one

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!

Questions about takes one to know one

What is takes one to know one the alternative form of?
Takes one to know one is the alternative form of it takes one to know one.

Words near takes one to know one in the dictionary

  1. takes on the chin
  2. takes on trust
  3. takes on water
  4. takes one day at a time
  5. takes one for the team
  6. takes one to know one
  7. takes one up
  8. takes one's ball and goes home
  9. takes one's business elsewhere
  10. takes one's chance
  11. takes one's courage in both hands

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: takes one to know one (page history and authors); 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.

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