dog end

[sweetdor]

not sure if this is the right section but here goes.....why do we call the end of a cigarette the dog end

[Quizmonster]

I'm not claiming this is certainly the answer, but here's a possibility...
Describing someone/something as a 'dog' has, since the early 20th century, meant he/she/it is ugly or otherwise of inferior quality. In addition, the earliest reference to 'dog-ends' meant specifically those to be found in the roadside gutter, which could be re-rolled and re-used. Again, the suggestion is of poor quality.

In technical terms - and this may be of more significance - a tool such as pliers, designed for gripping, has been called a 'dog' since the 15th century. Presumably, that was on the basis that actual dogs clamp things in their mouths. Could it be, therefore, that the leftover end of a cigarette is the part that the smoker 'clamped in his mouth', as it were, whilst smoking it?

[sweetdor]

sounds pretty feezable to me thanks for the expelnation

[Sequin]

I always thought it derived from dock(ed) end - with dock meaning to shorten, as in a docked tail (on a dog usually) - meaning the stump remaining

[RAS]

I do recall speaking to a lawyer 40 odd years ago. He was advising me not to get caught with "the fag end " of a lease.

[aidantraffor]

I tend to agree with Sequin, also I remember from my time smoking behind the bikesheds that when sharing a ciggie between mates, one of them invariably got the filter soaking wet with saliver , thereby creating a "dogs arse"!
Any more ideas?