fag-end

A tailor trims the fag-end from a piece of fabric.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Remnant or leftover piece: "fag-end" refers to a small, leftover piece of something, especially cloth or rope, that is discarded or considered worthless.
   • Cigarette butt: Informally, "fag-end" denotes the unsmoked end of a cigarette, often thrown away after use.
   • Inferior or final part: It can also mean the last, least valuable, or most unpleasant part of something, such as a period of time or an event.

Usage Examples

• (Small leftover pieces of fabric.)
• (The unsmoked butt of a cigarette.)
• (The final, least enjoyable part of the party.)

Advanced Usage

• "the fag-end of something": Used metaphorically to describe the tail end or concluding part of a process, period, or object.
  • We arrived at the fag-end of the meeting, just as everyone was leaving. (The very end of the meeting.)
• "fag-end of life": A poetic or literary phrase meaning the final, often declining years of a person's life.
  • He spent the fag-end of his life in a small cottage by the sea. (The last years of his life.)

Variants and Related Words

• Fag (n, informal, British): A cigarette.
  • He bought a pack of fags from the shop. (Cigarettes.)
• Fag-end (n, alternative spelling): Occasionally written with a hyphen or as one word "fagend" (less common).

Synonyms

• Remnant: a small remaining quantity of something.
• Stub: the short remaining piece of a cigarette, pencil, etc.
• Butt: the end of a cigarette after smoking.
• Tail end: the last part of something.

Phrasal Verbs

• None directly associated with "fag-end" as a noun. However, the verb "to fag" (British, informal) means to work hard or to become tired, but this is unrelated to "fag-end".

Related Idioms

• "The fag-end of the day": The very end of the day, typically when energy is low.
  • By the fag-end of the day, everyone was exhausted. (The final, draining part of the day.)
• "Fag-end of a rope": The frayed or untwisted end of a rope, often considered useless.
  • He tied the fag-end of the rope to the post, but it was too weak to hold. (The leftover, worn part of the rope.)