tarred with the same brush

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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.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

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Words nearby tarred with the same brush

Tarquinius, tarradiddle, tarragon, Tarragona, Tarrasa, tarred with the same brush, tarriance, Tar River, tarry, tarry cyst, Tarrytown

How to use tarred with the same brush in a sentence

None of these, though, has inspired quite the same backlash as fluoride.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
This same outlet worked the phrase “engagement to toyboy lover” into the headline of their article on Fry.
Freaking Out About Age Gaps in Gay Relationships Is Homophobic|Samantha Allen|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
France 24 is providing live, round-the-clock coverage of both scenes as they progress.
LIVE Coverage of the Paris Terror Attacks||January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It is the summit of human happiness: the surrender of man to God, of woman to man, of several women to the same man.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

To those who agreed with him, Bush pledged that the law against same-sex marriage would remain intact.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I waited three months more, in great impatience, then sent him back to the same post, to see if there might be a reply.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman
The Pontellier and Ratignolle compartments adjoined one another under the same roof.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
On the thirteenth of the same month they bound to the stake, in order to burn alive, a man who had two religious in his house.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
Some were even re-arrested for the same nefarious purpose, and the daily papers published their names on each occasion.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
The tenor dies; the prima donna appears to do the same, but the libretto consoles you by declaring that she only swoons.
Physiology of The Opera|John H. Swaby (AKA "Scrici")