The ox calls the donkey horned — a person criticises in others the very fault they themselves possess. The irony is double: the ox has horns and the donkey does not, so the accusation is both hypocritical and factually reversed.
This is one of the most acerbic of Tuscan proverbs, and it carries the sharp irony that characterises the Florentine tradition of social satire. The image comes from the farmyard — the world that every Tuscan, city or country, recognised — and it operates on two levels simultaneously. First, the obvious charge of hypocrisy: the person who criticises others for faults is blind to their own identical shortcomings. Second, the particular Tuscan comic twist: the ox accuses the donkey of having horns, when it is the ox who bears them. The accusation is not only hypocritical but factually absurd. This double irony is characteristic of Tuscan wit, which finds pleasure in multiple layers of meaning compressed into a single image. In Florentine popular culture, the proverb was often cited in political contexts — a corrupt official denouncing corruption, a dishonest merchant complaining of dishonesty — and it could be delivered with perfect deadpan timing to devastating effect.
One of the sharpest examples of Tuscan comic irony in the proverb tradition, combining the rural farmyard imagery of the contado with the acerbic social satire that characterises Florentine popular culture from Boccaccio onward.
A woman from Florence commenting on a notoriously unpunctual colleague who complains about others being late
Si lamenta sempre che gli altri fanno aspettare. Il bue dice cornuto all'asino.
He always complains that others make him wait. The ox calls the donkey horned.
A Sienese man reacting to a friend who criticises everyone else's cooking despite being a terrible cook himself
Sentilo lamentarsi del risotto degli altri. Il bue dice cornuto all'asino — lui brucia anche l'acqua.
Listen to him complaining about everyone else's risotto. The ox calls the donkey horned — he even burns water.
A farmer near Arezzo listening to his untidy neighbour scold someone else for messiness
Il campo di quell'uomo è uno schifo, eppure critica il mio. Il bue dice cornuto all'asino.
That man's field is a disgrace, and yet he criticises mine. The ox calls the donkey horned.
A retired politician in Lucca commenting on the news
Il ministro che parla di onestà. Il bue dice cornuto all'asino — li conosco tutti.
The minister talking about honesty. The ox calls the donkey horned — I know them all.