What does this idiom mean: "…the pot can’t call the kettle black"? ?

Read the following excerpt from life on the mississippi by mark twain. no girl could withstand his charms. he "cut out" every boy in the village. when his boat blew up at last, it diffused a tranquil contentment among us such as we had not known for months. but when he came home the next week, alive, renowned, and appeared in church all battered up and bandaged, a shining hero, stared at and wondered over by everybody, it seemed to us that the partiality of providence for an undeserving reptile had reached a point where it was open to criticism. how does twain's use of understatement serve his purpose? be sure to use specific details from the text to support your answer.

Read the excerpt from "save the redwoods."another, one of the finest in the grove, more than three hundred feet high, was skinned alive to a height of one hundred and sixteen feet from the ground and the bark sent to london to show how fine and big that calaveras tree was—as sensible a scheme as skinning our great men would be to prove their greatness. which  best  describes how the excerpt appeals to readers’ emotions? the excerpt provides facts about the tree, which impresses readers’ scientific minds. the excerpt describes how the tree traveled to london, which excites the readers’ sense of adventure. the excerpt compares the tree to a person, which makes readers feel sympathetic toward the tree. the excerpt explains how to skin a tree, which makes readers feel awed at the height of the tree.

Based on what he wrote in the inferno, which statement would dante most likely agree with? a. church leaders should be given leeway for their earthly actions since they are working for god. b. poets should be given a free pass to heaven since their words point others toward god. c. people, no matter their earthly status, should be judged by a fair god. d. churchgoers should be allowed into heaven just for attending church services. 2b2t