all tarred with the same brush
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
All alike to blame; all sheep of the same flock. The allusion is to the custom of distinguishing the sheep of any given flock by a common mark with a brush dipped in tar.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “all tarred with the same brush” mean?
All alike to blame; all sheep of the same flock. The allusion is to the custom of distinguishing the sheep of any given flock by a common mark with a brush dipped in tar.
Is “all tarred with the same brush” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.