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

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

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

Because Bruno’s ideas made such a splash at the time, and because he was condemned by the Church, all these ideas got tarred with the same brush.

From Literature

“But they all get tarred with the same brush.”

From Los Angeles Times