tar-and-feather

See also: tar and feather

English

Alternative forms

tar and feather

Verb

tar-and-feather

To cover a person in sticky tar, then covered in feathers which stick to the tar. An archaic means of humiliating a person.
- 1884, Mark Twain, chapter XI, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:
  The villagers had a strong desire to tar-and-feather Injun Joe and ride him on a rail, for body-snatching, but so formidable was his character that nobody could be found who was willing to take the lead in the matter, so it was dropped

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