painted with the tar brush—said of people or things represented as evil or harmful:
- The myth of the liberal media grew stronger and the Democrats were painted with the tar brush.
Cf.: tarred with the same brush—said of people considered to have similar faults or objectionable qualities:
- As the numbers of would-be immigrants increase, refugees are tarred with the same brush as illegal economic migrants.
touched with the tar brush—(may sound offensive) said of a person who is partly black:
- Her life story includes spending her childhood not black enough for black folks and too touched with the tar brush for those picky whites.