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?
Drinks like coffee and tea can become bitter when you get down to the dregs. That’s what the first saying makes me think of.
Same with distillation, you get the heavies that you don’t really want in your drink so you end the process. Ie the bitter end.