Black and Tan
1
9.9
- noun
:
Black and Tan
- The Black and Tans were notorious for their brutal methods during the Irish War of Independence.
In retaliation, Black and Tans British troops and auxiliaries set fire to the city center.
- In retaliation, Black and Tans British troops and auxiliaries set fire to the city center.
Examples
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"He sang: "Oh, but isn't it great to see / The Auxies and the RIC / The Black and Tans turn tail and flee / Away from Barry's coll-yum."
Fiction book (1994) -
But even an unsuccessful IRA attack could force the black and tans to abandon a position and fall back to a safer area.
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The Black and Tans' terror felt close at hand.
Fiction book (1994) -
But for the moment, I imagined myself on some rainy street in Dublin, waiting to shoot a Black and Tan.
Fiction book (2000) -
You couldn't have been near the Black and Tans' headquarters at six?
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In the instance of the original IRA and their war for independence, the British were rather happy to murder loads of civilians using the Black and Tans.
Blog text (17) -
As historian Charles Townsend explains, the second generation of Black and Tans neither looked like police nor behaved like them.
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Wasn't he pals with Frankie McPhillip who was shot by the Black and Tans tonight?
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"The Auxies were the Auxiliaries, the RIC was the Royal Irish Constabulary, and you know who the Black and Tans were.
Fiction book (1994) -
In the village, he had heard talk of how the Black and Tans had taken to roaring down Dublin streets on a lorry, wildly firing their weapons; in Kiltartan, a woman was dead, hit by stray shots with a child in her arms.
Fiction book (1994)
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although the words 'black' and 'tan' are transparent as colors, the phrase 'Black and Tan' is a historically and culturally specific proper name for a paramilitary force; its meaning as a member of that force (and the political/historical context) cannot be derived from the literal constituents by an average B1 learner. Recognizing this referent requires cultural or historical knowledge beyond knowing the individual words, so the expression is opaque.
Etymology
Black and Tan comes from the colours of their 'uniforms' — a mix of black and tan, so people began to call those units the 'Black and Tans'. So, the phrase now means 'a member of that English force' who helped the police in Ireland.