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?
Dollars to donuts originated in an age when a dollar could buy a considerable quantity of donuts. Inflation has since reduced the literal interpretation of the expression to nearly even odds.
Doughnuts are also zeros
Also donut shops overcharge. Donuts used to be super fucking cheap. That’s why they’d be next to the coffee pot at every function, and in the work break room. Now they want like $2 a donut. It’s dough that’s been boiled in grease. And they get to reuse the grease for many boilings. C’mon.
In 2026 it’s literally Donuts To Dollars.
Time is a flat, fried, circle drenched in chocolate frosting and filled with cream!
Chocolate-flavored frosting
I’d bet you dollars to RAM…
Also, I enjoy etymology. To me donuts will always be doughnaughts. (Naught meaning nothing or zero. Essentially zeroes made of dough.)
I came here for this comment. Thanks OP.