tarred with the same brush

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.

Example Sentences

Alonso might reasonably point out that other drivers make critical comments about rivals, do questionable things, and sound off on the radio, and are not tarred with the same brush.

From BBC

One reason that groups like the American Petroleum Institute have historically taken the lead running negative public relations campaigns is so that their members, such as BP and Shell, are not tarred with the same brush, as our interviews with industry insiders confirmed.

From Salon

But those distinctions may pass most Americans by, leaving the Biden administration tarred with the same brush as its predecessor, damaging any claim it might have had to be pursuing the moral high ground.

From BBC

"Sleaze, corruption, inadequate and self-serving. He's a lying toe rag. They're all tarred with the same brush, the sooner we have an election the better."

From BBC

The good ones get tarred with the same brush, even though the last person who wants to get in a squad car with a bad cop is a good cop.

From New York Times