in league with someone—in partnership with smb., especially for a dubious purpose:
- The message is intercepted by the telegraph operator, who is in league with the outlaws and passes the information along to them.
in the same league with someone—(usually negat.) in the same class or on the same level of excellence as another person:
- It is undesirable to admit someone who is “not in the same league” with typical students at that school.
Cf.: out of one’s league with someone—surrounded by people who are more skilful and experienced than oneself:
- I have only played drums for three quarters of a year; I am out of my league with the guys in this band.