tar and feather

verb

To cover (a person) in sticky tar, then cover in feathers which stick to the tar; an archaic means of humiliating a person.

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Meanings

verbtar and feather (third-person singular simple present tars and feathers, present participle tarring and feathering, simple past and past participle tarred and feathered)

present singular third person tars and feathers · participle present tarring and feathering · participle past tarred and feathered · past tarred and feathered · alternative tar-and-feather

  1. transitiveTo cover (a person) in sticky tar, then cover in feathers which stick to the tar; an archaic means of humiliating a person.

    1855 — George A. Smith, Journal of Discourses, Volume 3 "Preaching the Gospel" "O," say they, "if you talk with a Mormon Elder, you are sure to get worsted; tar and feather them, mob them, and stone them out of the country, for if you listen to them, you will be deceived."

    1 more example

    ...they'd be along pretty soon and give me 'bout half an hour's start, and then run me down if they could; and if they got me they'd tar and feather me and ride me on a rail, sure. I didn't wait for no breakfast—I warn't hungry.

    1884, Mark Twain, chapter XIX, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Cite this entry
APA

tar and feather. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tar%20and%20feather

MLA

“tar and feather.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tar%20and%20feather. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tar and feather,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tar%20and%20feather.

Source: tar and feather on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.