tar and feather

Idioms  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

The attorney, E Dirk Wegmann, told the special master that the plaintiffs only want the Saints emails released so they can give them to the media and “unfairly try to tar and feather the archdiocese”.

From The Guardian • Jan. 24, 2020

The attorney, E. Dirk Wegmann, told the special master that the plaintiffs only want the Saints emails released so they can give them to the media and “unfairly try to tar and feather the archdiocese.”

From Seattle Times • Jan. 24, 2020

But in a nation of widely disparate views on all aspects of government and society, you’re also going to have a good many eager to tar and feather you.

From Washington Times • Aug. 16, 2017

Applied to Scalia’s death, it means that this is not the time for critics to tar and feather the justice.

From Washington Post • Feb. 15, 2016

If they try to tar and feather me it will be a risky business.

From Tom Swift and His Electric Runabout, or, the Speediest Car on the Road by Appleton, Victor [pseud.]