Jeter la pierre

Critical French Expression


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Meaning	to accuse, blame; to criticize, be hard on
Literally	to throw the rock
Register	normal
Pronunciation		[zheu tay lah pyehr]
IPA		[ʒə te la pjɛʁ]

Usage notes: The idiomatic French expression jeter la pierre à quelqu’un has two somewhat related meanings.

1) To blame or accuse someone

Ne cherche pas quelqu’un à qui jeter la pierre – c’est de ta faute.		Don’t look for someone to blame – it’s your fault.
Il m’a jeté la pierre pour avoir perdu le match.		He blamed me for losing the match.

2) To criticize someone

Tu jettes la pierre à n’importe qui sauf toi-même.		You criticize everyone but yourself.
Il ne l’a pas fait exprès, ne lui jette pas la pierre.		He didn’t do it on purpose, don’t be too hard on him.

As shown, à plus the "blamee" or the "criticizee" can be replaced with an indirect object pronoun.

Origin

Jeter la pierre is originally from the Bible:

Que celui de vous qui est sans péché, jette le premier la pierre contre elle.		He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
Jean 8:7, Martin Bible		John 8:7, King James Bible