egy húron pendülnek

Hungarian

Etymology

egy (“one”) +‎ húr (“string”) +‎ -on (“on”, case suffix) +‎ pendül (“to sound”) +‎ -nek (“they”, personal suffix), literally “they sound on one string”

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛchuːron ˌpɛndylnɛk]

Verb

egy húron pendülnek

1. (idiomatic, colloquial) they are birds of a feather, they are tarred with the same brush (they are alike)

   Synonyms: egyformák; egyik kutya, másik eb

   • 1884, Mór Jókai, A lőcsei fehér asszony (The White Woman from Lőcse), chapter XL: [1]

     Éppen most volt szerencsém megérteni, hogy a nagyurak ígérete meg a beteg ember fogadása egy húron pendülnek.

     I have just had the chance to understand that the promise of the rich and the wager of a sick man are birds of a feather.

2. (idiomatic, colloquial, of friends or members of a group) they stick together, they are conspiratorial, thick as thieves

   Synonym: összeszűri a levet

Usage notes

Most of the time it is used in a negative sense: They have the same reprehensible and wrong opinions and point of views.

Conjugation

• For the verb, see pendül.
• The rest of the idiom remains unchanged.