Editing Tarring and feathering (section)

{{short description|Form of public torture and humiliation}}
{{redirect|Tarred and feathered|other uses|Tarred and Feathered (disambiguation){{!}}Tarred and Feathered}}
[[File:Philip Dawe (attributed), The Bostonians Paying the Excise-man, or Tarring and Feathering (1774) - 02.jpg|thumb|''The Bostonians Paying the Excise-Man'' — a 1774 British print by [[Philip Dawe]] that depicts the tarring and feathering of Boston Commissioner of Customs [[John Malcolm (Loyalist)|John Malcolm]]. This was the second time that Malcolm had been tarred and feathered.]]

'''Tarring and feathering''' is a form of public torture where a victim is stripped naked, or stripped to the waist, while [[wood tar]] (sometimes hot) is either poured or painted onto the person. The victim then either has feathers thrown on them or is rolled around on a pile of feathers so that they stick to the tar.

Used to enforce unofficial justice or revenge, it was used in [[medieval Europe]] and [[European colonialism|its colonies]] in the [[early modern period]], as well as the early [[American frontier]], mostly as a form of [[Vigilantism|vigilante justice]].

The image of a tarred-and-feathered outlaw remains a metaphor for severe public criticism.<ref name=AHD>{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tar%20and%20feather |title=Tar and Feather. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Houghton Mifflin Company |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com |date=May 26, 1997 |access-date=March 7, 2012}}</ref><ref name=FOD>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tars |title=Tars. The Free Online Dictionary |publisher=Thefreedictionary.com |access-date=2012-03-07 |quote=To criticize severely and devastatingly; excoriate.}} ("[[:wikt:excoriate|to excoriate]]" [i.e. "to flay"] being itself a similar type of metaphor).</ref>

Tarring and feathering was a very common punishment in British colonies in North America during 1766 through 1776. The most famous American tarring and feathering is that of [[John Malcolm (Loyalist)|John Malcolm]], a British Loyalist, during the [[American Revolution]].