touch of the tar brush en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
Believed to be of British origin.
Meanings
-
(informal) Real or suspected African or Asian distant ancestry in a person of predominantly Caucasian ancestry; mixed racial heritage (e.g. Afro-Caribbean or, to a lesser extent, South Asian in background or appearance).
She was quite young—not more than about twenty-five—and sort of dark and slinky-looking, if you know what I mean. Quite nice-looking in a kind of way, but rather as though she might have what my mother used to call "a touch of the tar-brush."
1936, Agatha Christie, Murder in Mesopotamia, page 30:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| touches of the tar brush | Number=Plur | lexicographic |