BLACK AND TAN


Meaning of BLACK AND TAN in English

Member of a British auxiliary force employed in Ireland against the republicans (1920–21).

When Irish nationalist agitation intensified after World War I, many Irish police resigned and were replaced by these temporary English recruits, who dressed in a mixed "black and tan" outfit because of a shortage of uniforms. In their efforts to thwart the terrorism of the Irish Republican Army , the Black and Tans themselves engaged in brutal reprisals.

Britannica English dictionary.      Английский словарь Британика.