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speak the same language

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speak the same language

 

1. Lit. [for two or more people] to communicate in a shared language. These two people don't speak the same language and need an interpreter.

2. Fig. [for people] to have similar ideas, tastes, etc. Jane and Jack get along very well. They really speak the same language about almost everything. Bob and his father didn't speak the same language when it comes to politics.

See also: language, same, speak

speak the same language

also speak somebody's language

to share similar beliefs and opinions Environmentalists and developers don't speak the same language. When we got down to planning where to go on our trip, I was glad we spoke the same language.

See also: language, same, speak

speak/talk the same language

if two people speak the same language, they have similar beliefs and opinions, and express themselves in similar ways There's no use setting up a meeting between the environmentalists and the construction company - they just don't speak the same language.

See It's all the same to me, be cut from the same cloth, be of like mind, sing the same tune, tar with the same brush, be on the same wavelength

See also: language, same, speak

speak the same language

Understand one another very well, agree with each other, as in Negotiations went on for days, but finally both sides realized they weren't speaking the same language . This term, alluding to literal understanding of spoken words, dates from the late 1800s.

See also: language, same, speak