Meaning & use
fag end
Last updated
Meanings
nounsingularinformalBritish
The last, least important part of something, especially a period of time.
Grammar: Usually used with the: the fag end of the day.
Patterns
- the fag end of something
- at the fag end of something
We only met at the fag end of the party, when most people had gone home.
Sales always drop in the fag end of the year.
He spent the fag end of the afternoon tidying his desk.
nouncountableinformalBritish
The short piece left of a cigarette after most of it has been smoked.
Grammar: Countable: a fag end, fag ends. Mainly British.
Patterns
- a fag end
- stub out a fag end
The ashtray was full of fag ends.
He stubbed out the fag end and went back inside.
Someone had dropped a fag end on the carpet.
Word forms
| plural | fag ends |
|---|
Common combinations
- the fag end of the day
- The shop is quiet at the fag end of the day.
- the fag end of the season
- Tickets get cheaper at the fag end of the season.
- a fag end in the ashtray
- There was a fag end in the ashtray.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tail end
- The safer, more common choice in both British and American English for the last part of something.
- stub
- Refers just to the leftover bit of a cigarette, not to the end of a period.
Opposites
Commonly confused: fag end or fag?
fag end vs fag
In British English fag can mean a cigarette or a boring job; in American English it is a rude insult for a gay man, so avoid it.
Practice
Which sentence uses "fag end" in a neutral, non-offensive way for most British speakers?
Choose one answer.
"Fag end" normally means the last part of something, so the concert example fits. The other options misuse it as an insult, a part of a ship, or a food item.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fag end”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.