How did f a g become a slang name for a cigarette?

Question

It's not an offensive term in the UK, if you are more interested in the links the word has to homosexuality then please ask it as a seperate question. I am referring specifically to it's common and socially acceptable use in Britain as a word for a cigarette.

Answer 1

to the british, f-a-ggot is the primary traditional meaning of the word is indeed 'a bundle of sticks for burning'

In British English the term f a g (though not f a ggot) most commonly means a cigarette.

Answer 2

Let me take a wild stab at this... a f a g g o t is a bundle of sticks. Nope, no connection there. Okay, a f a g is British for a cigarette.

Answer 3

I have not heard a cigarette being called a fag, since i was teenager in the 60's, we did refer to it as a fag during that time. And may I add, at that time, I didn't know about homosexual people.

Answer 4

I heard that in Scotland and England they called cigarettes a fag.

Answer 5

no you're all are wrong the word F-A-G was a crude slang word for a homosexual before it was used as a substitute for a cigarette. the word F-A-G is a word derived from F-A-G-G-O-T. A F-A-G-G-O-T was a stick used to burn homosexuals during the medieval times. Hence you call a cigarette a F-A-G because its shaped as a stick and it burns.

Answer 6

I believe you have it backward; that was a term for cigarettes long before it was applied to homosexuals.

Answer 7

that was in the seccond place ,
first it meant a schoolboy slave
how did this become a slang name for gay is much more to the point because that was the last

Answer 8

f a g g o t used to mean a bundle of sticks, used for firewood.

Answer 9

Its English.

However I think abetter question would be "How did f-a-g become a slang name for gay person?"

Answer 10

I think it may be an acronym for "Fresh Air GONE"