tarred with the same brush

Idioms  

1. Having the same faults or bad qualities, as in He may be lazy, but if you ask me his friends are all tarred with the same brush. This term is thought to come from sheep farming, where the animals' sores were treated by brushing tar over them, and all the sheep in a flock were treated in the same way. The term was transferred to likeness in human beings in the early 1800s.

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Example Sentences

“There’s not any way, because everybody’s going to be tarred with the same brush. We will probably lose seats in the House,” Titus said.

From The Guardian

“I’m very concerned that people collaborating with him will be tarred with the same brush,” Bolnick says.

From Science Magazine

“It’s a bit of an insult to be tarred with the same brush. To that point, for the life of me, I don’t know what the holdup is. It’s pretty simple: Come to an agreement and get on with it.”

From Seattle Times

Every toucher is “tarred with the same brush.”

From Washington Post

“I hope we don’t get tarred with the same brush,” he said.

From New York Times