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Glite Dictionary
to tar with the same brush

to tar with the same brush

1 8.7
Unfairly judge a whole group because of one person's actions
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : juzgar a todos por uno
  • It's unfair to tar with the same brush everyone just because of one person's mistake.
  • get tarred with the same brush

Examples

  • We shouldn't be tarring all of you with the same brush, but should be reserving that and the feathers for those few.

    Blog text (3)

  • I don't believe he was tarring all Republicans with the same brush.

    Blog text (29)

  • But they all get tarred with the same brush.

    God's Not Dead: We The People (2021)

  • But to tar everyone with the same brush?

    Blog text (8)

  • You cannot tar whole civilizations with the same brush.

    Academic text (2013)

  • So beware of tarring everyone with the same brush.

    Blog text (8)

  • Indie writers felt I was discounting their efforts and that I was tarring too many with the same brush.

    Blog text (21)

  • Interesting article, but I think you're unfairly tarring everyone with the same brush, Chelsea.

    Blog text (31)

  • The problem for science in general is that the AGW theory has, by invention, been made very public, and the rest of science will be tarred with the same brush.

    Blog text (23)

  • I understand your point completely about poor breeders and owners, who, in my opinion, should be shot on the spot, but you can't tar all with the same brush.

    Blog text (12)

Synonyms

to demonize
vsto tar with the same brush
  • Literature
77 7.1

Make a person, group, or thing seem evil and dangerous, often unfairly

turns one instance into an extreme evil label for the whole group
to stigmatize
vsto tar with the same brush
  • US
24 7.5

Treat someone as shameful and not worthy of respect

extends that shame to the whole group after one example
to stereotype
vsto tar with the same brush
11 4.8

To treat someone as if a simple, fixed idea about their group is true

judges an entire group because of one person or case
to pigeonhole
vsto tar with the same brush
4 7.6

To put someone into a narrow category that limits how others see them

does this because of one person's trait or action
to paint with a broad brush
vsto tar with the same brush
  • Informal
2 7.2

Describe people or things in very general ways that ignore important details

draws a group conclusion from a single example

How Unfair

to tar with the same brush
  • Informal
1 8.7
to stereotype
11 4.8
to generalize
  • US
41 4.2
notice
217 1.2

Surface Forms

tar with the same brush infinitive
tarred with the same brush past
tarred with the same brush past participle
tarring with the same brush present participle
tars with the same brush third person singular

Morphology

tar + with + the + same + brush

The literal words (tar = to stain/cover with tar; brush = tool for applying) provide a visible metaphor of staining or smearing that signals a negative generalization, so a learner who knows the constituents can often guess the general idea. However, the specific pragmatic sense — unfairly judging or lumping all members together based on one example — is an idiomatic extension of that metaphor and not fully predictable without exposure, making it only partially transparent.

Etymology

The idiom tar with the same brush comes from a simple image: if you use one brush already covered in sticky tar to paint many things, the tar spreads and makes them all look dirty. So the phrase means 'to unfairly judge or blame' a whole group because of one person's action.