tar (someone or something) with the same brush

tar (someone or something) with the same brush

To unfairly categorize someone or something as being the same as another person or thing, usually in a negative manner. Just because the CEO turned out to be a rotten scoundrel doesn't mean we should tar the entire company with the same brush. There is absolutely a segment of video game enthusiasts who create a hostile and toxic environment online, but tarring all gamers with the same brush does a disservice to the community.See also: brush, same, tar

tarred with the same brush

Unfairly judged or categorized as being the same as another person or thing, usually in a negative manner. Just because the CEO turned out to be a rotten scoundrel doesn't mean the entire company should be tarred the with the same brush. There is absolutely a segment of video game enthusiasts who create a hostile and toxic environment online, but I hate the fact that all gamers are tarred with the same brush.See also: brush, same, tar

tarred with the same brush

Fig. sharing the same characteristic(s); having the same good or bad points as someone else. Jack and his brother are tarred with the same brush. They're both crooks. The Smith children are tarred with the same brush. They're all lazy.See also: brush, same, tar

tarred with the same brush

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. See also: brush, same, tar

tar someone with the same brush

If you tar someone with the same brush you wrongly believe that they have the same bad qualities as others in a group of people they are connected with. I am a football supporter and I often have to explain that I'm not one of the hooligan sort, because we all get tarred with the same brush. In the loans business, the better operators get tarred with the same brush as the less scrupulous ones. Note: You can also say that someone is tarred with the brush of something. Why should all English people be tarred with the brush of football hooliganism? Note: This expression comes from the use of tar to mark all the sheep in one flock to distinguish them from another flock. See also: brush, same, someone, tar

tar people with the same brush

consider specified people to have the same faults.See also: brush, people, same, tar

tar somebody/something with the same ˈbrush

judge a whole group of people or things unfairly because of your bad experience with one or a few of them: Because his older brother had been a troublemaker at the school, Paul was automatically tarred with the same brush. It wasn’t fair!See also: brush, same, somebody, something, tar

tarred with the same brush

Considered or described as having the same faults or bad qualities.See also: brush, same, tar