I was thinking about the phrase ‘The pot calling the kettle black’. It comes from a time where cooking was done over open fires and cookware would become visibly ashy. (Fun fact: It first appears and was perhaps coined by Cervantes in Don Quixote!)
What are some other idioms that have lost their literal connection to time? What would be a good modern replacement?
“Picking up the phone” makes sense because you will probably pick it up to answer or dial. “Hanging up the phone” doesn’t really happen so much anymore but we still do it all the time.