Black and Tans

British  

plural noun

1. a specially recruited armed auxiliary police force sent to Ireland in 1921 by the British Government to combat Sinn Féin

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Etymology

Origin of Black and Tans

name suggested by the colour of their uniforms and the Black and Tans hunt in Munster

Example Sentences

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

Dr Gannon says the Black and Tans were "internationally notorious".

From BBC • Jan. 23, 2022

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 English brought in a bunch of gangsters from their prisons, called the Black and Tans.

From 100 New Yorkers of the 1970s by Millard, Max