tar and feather

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tar and feather

1. Literally, to coat someone with tar and bird feathers as a form of public punishment and shaming (a practice that fell out of use in the early 20th century). The mob tarred and feathered the thief in the public square before parading him through the town strapped to a wooden cart.

2. By extension, to severely criticize, reprimand, or excoriate someone, especially in a public and humiliating manner. Everyone is demanding that the government tar and feather the bank executives behind the scandal, but I'd be willing to bet that all they'll receive is a slap on the wrist.

See also: and, feather, tar

tar and feather someone

to punish or humiliate someone by coating them with tar and feathers. The people of the village tarred and feathered the bank robber and chased him out of town. They threatened to tar and feather me if I ever came back into their town.

See also: and, feather, tar

tar and feather

Criticize severely, punish, as in The traditionalists often want to tar and feather those who don't conform. This expression alludes to a former brutal punishment in which a person was smeared with tar and covered with feathers, which then stuck. It was first used as a punishment for theft in the English navy, recorded in the Ordinance of Richard I in 1189, and by the mid-1700s had become mob practice. The figurative usage dates from the mid-1800s.

See also: and, feather, tar

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.

tar and feather someone

If you tar and feather someone, you criticize and embarrass them very badly. These newspapers are ready to tar and feather innocent celebrities.

tar and feather

smear with tar and then cover with feathers as a punishment.

This practice was introduced in Britain in 1189 , when Richard I decreed that it should be the punishment for members of the navy found guilty of theft. It seems to have been intermittently imposed on other wrongdoers in Britain and has sometimes been inflicted on an unpopular or scandalous individual by a mob.

1981 Anthony Price Soldier No More The Russians…wouldn't have cared less if we'd tarred and feathered Nasser and run him out of Suez on a rail.

See also: and, feather, tar

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

tar and feather

1. To punish (a person) by covering with tar and feathers.

2. To criticize severely and devastatingly; excoriate.

See also: and, feather, tar

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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References in classic literature ?

And a smile played round the King's lips as he finished speaking, and his courtiers and counsellors shook with laughter when they thought of the old woman's folly, and praised the King's wise device, and said to each other, 'What a joke it will be when we see the pair of them tarred and feathered! The son is just as able to grow a beard on the palm of his hand as to execute such a task in twenty-four hours.'

As I told you, my going to Court has been as much as our lives are worth, and now we will both be tarred and feathered, and burnt in the public market-place.

View in context

"I wish the people had tarred and feathered every man of them!" cried Charley.

"And I would risk my life rather than one of those good old royalists should be tarred and feathered."

View in context

Sharon Osbourne has admitted she "tarred and feathered" a nanny who tried to seduce her husband Ozzy at a party.

Shazza's dog food revenge on nanny

She's revealed how she "tarred and feathered" a sex-crazed nanny who tried to seduce husband Ozzy during a wild house party in the early 1980s.

Sharon's attack on sex pest nanny..

In January 1774, for example, a Boston mob tarred and feathered a minor customs official, John Malcolm; it was a far more gruesome ordeal than modern readers might realize.

Scars of Independence: America's Violent Birth

The author goes on to describe several occasions where Loyalists were tarred and feathered, without any sense of the barbarity of the actions.

When 'the good old day' weren't so good

CORRUPT Greek governments have deceived one and all Bringing about this tragic downfall Deceiving the euro and their own nation The government brought on this panic station The banks have no money and the public no pride The Greek revival will be a long hard ride Facing austerity for many more years Poor Greek folk tell you as they fight back the tears Pocket money for the kids does not now exist And is a long way down the survival list The Greek government have let the nation down They should be tarred and feathered and run out of town Sooner or later we hope all is resolved And with less austerity being involved.

POEM OF THE DAY; Deceived

Even so, one wonders just how eager audiences will be to watch a tony adaptation of ex-New York Times reporter Michael Finkel's self-serving memoir, a conscience-cleanser written to redeem himself after being tarred and feathered for inventing a composite character in a high-profile cover story.

True Story

Dale Myers They all want to be tarred and feathered.

TWEETS & POSTS

Will Mary's amorous relationships force her to get out of town before she's metaphorically tarred and feathered? A literary precursor to the 1960's upheval in women's everyday roles, Mary and the Giant is an excellent selection for public library audiobook collections.

Mary and the Giant

I ended up looking like I'd been tarred and feathered.

Hygiene hell of tucking into food outdoors

Their encore included Pack of Thieves, Zzzonked and during Constellations a shower of tiny stars fell upon the sweaty crowd who staggered out of the gig looking tarred and feathered. All in all a spectacular ending to their last night in the city.