Black and Tans
Britishplural noun
Etymology
Origin of Black and Tans
name suggested by the colour of their uniforms and the Black and Tans hunt in Munster
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The force was composed of “members of both” his Auxiliaries and Black and Tans, who were “assigned to Palestine once their presence in Ireland was no longer deemed necessary.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2025
The term Black and Tans has pejorative connotations and refers to the uniforms the recruits wore during the fighting in Ireland a century ago.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 13, 2023
Two British military inquiries, held behind closed doors, criticised the RIC and Black and Tans for using "excessive" force, but exonerated the police from claims they fired the first shots.
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2020
It was Madame Defarge, not Madame Lafarge, who sat by the guillotine, and Churchill, not Lloyd George, who decided to send the Black and Tans into Ireland.
From New York Times ● Nov. 8, 2019
The real ferocity on both sides began when the "Black and Tans" were imported to take the place of the R.I.C., who were resigning in batches.
From Ireland Since Parnell by Sheehan, D. D. (Daniel Desmond)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
