Tans

See also tans

English

Noun

Tans (uncountable)

1. (Ireland, UK) Abbreviated name for Black and Tans, the British irregular army group, operating against Irish republicans in the War of Independence 1920/21.

   1931 - Intuitively, on Bloody Sunday, the Tans recognized where their trouble lay: the Irish were playing their own game once again. - To Play the Game: An Analysis of Sport, John Bowyer Bell.

   1955 - Close quarter fighting did not suit them. It does not suit the Essex or the Tans. - Guerilla Days in Ireland General Tom Barry

   1995 - The Dawn contains two problems for its male protagonists: namely, Ireland's fight against the British forces, the RIC, and the Tans, and the patriotic commitment of the Malone family's sons. Screening Ireland: Film and Television Representation, Lance Pettitt

Anagrams

• ants
• Stan