fag end

Pronunciation key (fag end)

fag end

n. [fag in earlier n. sense of "thing hanging loosely"]

1. remnant or last or worst, part, typically of slight utility.
2. the extreme end
3. the last part or coarser end of a piece of cloth
4. the frayed end, as in an untwisted end of a rope

References

Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language (College Edition) ©1955

Funk and Wagnall's Standard Dictionary, Comprehensive International Edition, ©1976

Merriam-Webster Dictionary & Thesaurus, ©2004