Coated with tar (a thick black sticky substance); or damaged someone's reputation by association or accusation.
From Old English 'tear', possibly from Baltic languages. The 'reputation' meaning comes from phrases like 'tar with the same brush' (smear both with the same blame).
The phrase 'tarred and feathered' was a cruel colonial punishment where victims were coated with tar and feathers — the tar stuck to skin painfully and the feathers showed public shame, a humiliating mob punishment.
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