Black and Tans

plural noun

1. the Black and Tans
   a specially recruited armed auxiliary police force sent to Ireland in 1921 by the British Government to combat Sinn Féin

Word History and Origins

Origin of Black and Tans¹

name suggested by the colour of their uniforms and the Black and Tans hunt in Munster

Example Sentences

Thanking Rob Kearney, a distant cousin who played in an Irish team that beat New Zealand, for presenting them with a tie, he said: "This was given to me by one of these guys, right here. He was a hell of a rugby player. He beat the hell out of the Black and Tans."

From BBC

Not easy then to get the Black and Tans and the New Zealand All Blacks mixed up.

From BBC

While talking about a relative who had been an Irish rugby player, he mixed up the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team with the Black and Tans, a brutal British military unit that fought against rebel forces in the Irish war for independence.

From Washington Post

He will occasionally misspeak or fumble for words, as he has done for his entire political career — on Wednesday, during his trip to Ireland, he tried to refer to New Zealand’s national rugby team, the All Blacks, but instead called them the “Black and Tans,” which was the name of a brutal British paramilitary force.

From Washington Post

“He was a hell of a rugby player, and he beat the hell out of the Black and Tans,” Mr. Biden said Wednesday at a pub in Dundalk, Ireland.

From Washington Times