speak the same language

speak the same language idiom
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.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.