how do you say 'Tar and Feather'?

Question

Hello,

I am watching HBO's miniseries 'John Adams' in Spanish w/ English subtitles and the mob is tarring and feathering someone. I can't quite get what they are yelling in Spanish....How to say "tar and feather" and "tar him" in Spanish....?

When I put "tar and feather" in Google Translate I get "de alquitrán y plumas" but I don't think this is correct

Thanks in advance! Shawn

A mexican would have no concept of that - pacofinkler, Jul 4, 2011

Answer 1

Tar and feather is an English expression - not used in Spanish.

However, if you want a literal translation you can say "Le pusieron alquitrán y entonces le pusieron plumas".

Answer 2

Yes taring and feathering is a practice started in Europe that carried over to American colonialists when angry mobs formed and went against someone.

For some reason most literature talks about the humiliation factor more than the pain, since after the offender was tared and feathered he was often paraded through town. The pain and damage must not as been as horrible as it sounds since few died from it in an age where there were not antibiotics and many died from simple wounds.

In America the term is still sometime used (rarely) to express EXTREME over the top outrage. I actually alluded to the term once... asking "how far is oil from tar?" on my Facebook account when Ex-BP chief executive tony hayward (lower case used to express my continued disdain for the man) stated that he wanted the Deepwater Horizon leak fixed since "he wanted his life back" when we were watching oil,dead birds, fish, turtles and marine life etc coat what was once our pristine white Florida beaches...terrified that our economy, livelihoods and way of life were gone forever. Even now tar and feather seems appropriate for that psychopath....ops sorry for the tangent.....

thanks for the answer...I just couldn't figure out what they were saying in the series

Answer 3

If I understand the procedure, hot tar is put one someone - which has to be bloody painful - and then feathers are put into the tar, which in effect, glues the feathers onto the unfortunate victim.

So you could also say " Pegarle a alguien plumas con alquitrán."

Answer 4

Thank you.