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Painted with the same brush

Posted by ESC on August 02, 2008 at 08:29

In Reply to: Painted with the same brush posted by Sheila on August 01, 2008 at 06:50:

: Does anyone know the origin of the phrase "painted with the same brush"? My grandmother always used it when warning me about associating with people who didn't have very good reputations. Thanks.

It sounds the same as this phrase:

TARRED WITH THE SAME BRUSH - "Someone who shares the sins or faults of another, though possibly to a lesser degree, is tarred with the same brush. The saying may have something to do with the tarred-and-feathered criminals (see below), but the reference is probably to the tarring of sheep. Owners of a flock of sheep, which can't be branded, used to mark their wool all in the same place with a brush dipped in tar to distinguish them from sheep of another flock. It is said that the red ochre was used to make the mark and that brushing sheep with tar served to protect them against ticks."from Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1997).

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