tarred and feathered
Colonial humiliation ritual
Tarred and feathered describes a mob punishment in which hot tar was poured over a person's body and feathers pressed into it—humiliating and painful but rarely fatal.
The practice was common in colonial America for punishing loyalists, corrupt officials, or social transgressors.
Now used figuratively for being publicly shamed or harshly criticized: The CEO was tarred and feathered in the press after the scandal broke.
- humiliationLoss of dignity
- public shamingCommunal reputational punishment
- colonial AmericaBritish North Atlantic settlements, pre-1776
- disgraceLoss of honor
- pilloryPublic punishment restraint
town square · vigilante justice · frontier justice · rough justice · branding · mob justice · angry mob · vilification · infamy · run out of town · folklore · pine tar · stocks · scapegoating · flogging · mob rule · ridicule · rails
tarred and featheredhonored
Given recognition or respect
celebrated · feted · lauded · knighted · put on a pedestal
tarred, tarring, feather, feathered, feathering, feathers, feathery