tar (redirected from tars and feather)

beat/knock the tar out of someone (American, informal)

to keep hitting someone hard, or to completely defeat someone. We used to fight a lot as kids and he always beat the tar out of me. He was tired of her knocking the tar out of him when they played checkers.

See also: beat, knock

tar someone with the same brush

to believe wrongly that someone or something has the same bad qualities as someone or something that is similar. I admit that some football supporters do cause trouble but it's not fair that we're all being tarred with the same brush. (usually passive)

See also: brush, same