OFF: Brit Slang!

[John H. McCartney]

> Ok...here is one.....the term "Fag" in "amerikun" slang connotates someone
> attracted to the same sex.   "Fag" in the UK is a cigarette.
>
> When I first heard of a cigarrette referred to as a "Fag", it made me laugh
> due to the other connotation, and it was a curiosity as to how that came
> about to begin with.


My suspicion is that the term "fag" in reference to cigarettes comes
from the word "faggot", which originally was in reference to a stick,
as in "a bundle of faggots". That usage dates back to the middle ages.
I figure that cigs are somewhat sticklike.....

As to how faggot got it's present connotation I've no idea.


scorch