Oxford

"tar and feather someone: emplumar a alguien"

Mike :)

Es una referencia la práctica afortunadamente en desuso de cubrir a alguien de alquitrán y plumas como forma de castigo.

Aquí simplemente significa "el castigo que hemos de sufrir".

Websters
3tar
Pronunciation:*
Function:transitive verb
Inflected Form:tarred ; tarred ; tarring ; tars
Etymology:Middle English tarren, terren, from tarr, terr tar

1 : to cover or overspread with tar *boarded walls which had once been tarred but were now mellowed— Margery Allingham*
2 : to smear or defile as if with tar : TAINT, STAIN *rendered ineffective by tarring as stooges of the outside— James Still* — often used with with *tar the Democrats with the stick of secession— H.S.Commager* *the humble things with which he was tarred were pulling him down— Oliver La Farge*
–tar and feather : to smear (a person) with tar and cover with feathers as a punishment or indignity *tarred and feathered them and rode them out of town on a rail*
–tar with the same brush : to mark or stain with the same fault or characteristic *author and hero tended to melt into one T were tarred with the same brush— William Troy*

como en Lucky Luke al tramposo del póker
Tarring and feathering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia17 Dec 2008 ... Tarring and feathering is a physical punishment, used to enforce formal justice in feudal Europe and informal justice in Europe and its ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarring_and_feathering - 48k - Cached - Similar pages

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Note added at 5 mins (2009-01-19 22:44:30 GMT)
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le empluman

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Note added at 10 mins (2009-01-19 22:49:38 GMT)
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también se usa en sentido figurado:
Islandia - Página 4 - OJODIGITAL
Pues yo solo vi uno en 21 dias pero claro, como te paren te empluman. En cuanto a lo del 4x4 yo no lo cogi (alquile un Toyota Auris) y mas que nada
www.ojodigital.com/foro/europa/55599-islandia-4.html#post25... - 83k - En caché

Referencia:

Collins Robert Unabridged Spanish/English Dictionary

Para lectores de estos tiempos, esta sería la forma de entender lo que significaba "emplumar" en aquella época.