I just found out that 'be a fag' is a fixed idiom in English. Is this actually a normal expression?

This is very much a UK thing, saying this in the US has extremely extremely homophobic connotations.

I would not recommend saying this.

Very outdated usage of the word. Back in ‘70s you’d have heard that in parts of the UK, but not anymore.

I thought that a fag was a cigarette

I have never heard this before, though I am from the US and it says it's a UK thing.

I’ve only ever seen this in Roald Dahl’s autobiography, a century removed from the present day.

(UK) I've heard "be a faff" in this context before but never "be a fag" I'm from the south of England so maybe it's a northern version.

I’m from the south of England and don’t think I’ve heard this. I suspect it’s outdated now or regional. Personally, I’d use drag in place of fag in all those sentences, or faff (slightly different meaning).

Adding onto the southern UK commenter, I'm from the north of England and have never heard this. A fag is either a cigarette or a very derogatory term for a gay man. If somebody said this, I'd assume they meant "faff" and misspoke. It may have been common in the past (though I haven't even heard it from old people), but it's definitely not a normal thing to say now.

Growing up in England decades ago, it was a commonly understood phrase. However, I didn't use it much, if at all. I don't know how common it is now.

God this word uses to mean so many things huh

Very old fashioned and posh. I doubt anyone has used it in 50 years.

In North America a fag is a noun. Almost always a homophobic slur, occasionally can refer to a cigarette but not usually.

This is archaic in British English, no longer in use in this way, do not use it.

Oldish native speaker here. I’ve never heard the ‘word ‘fag’ used like that, and ‘fag’ is an offensive term here in the UK, too. Avoid, avoid, avoid…

I don’t think I’ve heard anyone use this phrase before, it might be archaic

To be fagged is an archaic way of saying you're very tired

In Canada this would be considered offensive.

New idiom unlocked !

Definitely do not say this in the US. It's considered a slur against gay men.

Definitely not (at least not in American English.) "Fag" is an offensive slur most commonly used against homosexual men. In British English, "fag" can refer to a cigarette butt, or can also mean "tired", but those usages are falling out of favor because of the aforementioned slur.

From the U.S. here, and I would totally not understand this at all.

If you say this in the USA, the lgbt community will instantly hate you if you aren’t part of us lol. Fag is very much a homophobic insult here

Just to throw in another point of view/ as so many uk speakers are saying they don’t know it. I’m not _that_ old and also not public school- but I think the phrase “it’s a bit of a fag” (meaning a pain) is actually quite common, at least for over 40s- like “my commute to work is a bit of a fag”. Or “cleaning this house is a total fag”. But totally concede it’s becoming a bit outdated.

Ohh hail no ...💀

Not at all anymore.

I've never heard this

"mainly UK informal" is a severe understatement lmao it's a slur in american english

In most dialects of English, using any of this will start a fight. Just don't use that word.

Not at all from where I'm from (NUK). We use it to mean cigarette or as a gay slur.

Hi there! I’m looking for someone to practice English with. Want to chat together on Clubhouse (or any app you like) sometime? 😊 Let me know!

My mum uses it. She’s from Plymouth and in her 70s. I scold her for saying it because it sounds homophobic 😂, although I’ll happily say “can I bum a fag” at the pub.

definitely outdated, don’t use this.. it won’t be taken well as this word is offensive to the LGBTQ community, a word that is frequently used is “faff” which is a direct replacement.

Do NOT use that in the US. It's seen as homophobic AF, because "f-" is a slur for gay ppl that has a violent and discriminatory past. It's the kind of thing that'll get you hauled into HR at work, ostracized by any gay or ally acquaintances, etc. It's basically the n-word for gay people. It might actually provoke violence in some cases (check wikipedia under "fighting words"). The only people who use it are assholes who don't care, and ignorant kids who think they're being cool and edgy by breaking taboos. It's bullshit and WILL elicit strong reactions if you say it in front of anybody with half a brain. You have been warned.

Don't use this phrase around Americans. It's not common here so we'll think you're calling someone a slur

a drag could work “doing your bed everytime must be/is a drag” “doing things you don’t like is a drag” “he told me to work in his shift which would be/is a drag” etc. drag basically means what fag means. Though it can mean annoying, which is tiring in a way (since you’re tired, you’re annoyed) too. It’s basically the signature word of Shikamaru, or whatever his name was spelled.

The only time it's acceptable to use "fag" is if you are a British person referring to a cigarette. Otherwise the word is considered an extremely offensive slur against LBGT people.

Am American, but I have also lived in the UK for a few years. Have never heard a soul say something even close to this 😭

In the UK this is very outdated and not used and in North America this would be very offensive so just don’t

There’s nothing technically wrong with it, but the association with the homophobic slur, as well as the fact that it’s quite an old idiom so a lot of modern English people won’t know about it, it’s best just not to use it.

It's outdated. I've seen it in very old novels where fag meant a drag, tiring "fag out" meaning run out of steam. I've never heard this usage out loud. Fag as in cigarette, as gay slur (or not-so-slur as the case may be) and faggot as slur, bundle of sticks or stick like items or meatballs. If you are learning English idioms, don't use books blindly. Listen to people. I've had some ridiculous instances using out of date verbiage in my youth and I'm a native speaker! Used to be a voracious reader and older forms would accidentally make their way into my speech. One time I recall reading Tolkien at my friend's house and she surprised me when she walked into the room . I greeted her with "heigh ho" as directly from the text. I was banned from her house until I apologized because her dad had thought I'd said " Hey, hoe! (Prostitute)" Which I certainly hadn't at age 11.

Fag or shag were used interchangeably in the phrase. I think it is a public school thing...only say that as people i know who use it often were public schoolers and boarders.

It’s quite archaic - mainly confined (if it’s said at all!) to the upper-middle class: ie: from people who were sent as kids to certain public schools…

This must be a very old and outdated term. I've only really heard "faggot" used as either a slur or in reference to pork faggots. Rarely heard "fag" as a slur unless I heard it used on US films or seen yanks say it online, as it's mostly considered just another term for a cigarette in UK/Ireland.

Just referring to the UK here: From a bit of googling, in early English, a fag meant a flap, and from that, a fag-end meant the last bit of a piece of material. The last remaining part of a cigarette began to be known as a fag-end, and from that, a whole cigarette became known as a fag. Sailors used to refer to a piece of rope that had become worn out and was unraveling at the end as "fagged out". Lots of English expressions come from nautical terms. Presumably this is how "fagged out" started to be used to mean "tired", and then "a fag" started to be used to mean "a tiring or boring task", "to fag" or "to fag away" was to work hard at a boring task". As others have said, this usage died out except in rare instances. Further derived from this, "fagging" was a system used English public schools (English "public" schools are actually ancient private schools like Eton) where younger boys would act a servants ("fags") and do do menial tasks ("fag") for older boys. Fagging was sometimes known to include physical and sexual abuse. In some schools, the tradition lasted up until the end of the 20th century, but has died out now.

From the north of England and I say this. I don’t think it’s very common and it definitely dropping out of use, but still not unheard of. I would expect most reasonably educated Brits to recognise it, even if they don’t personally use it.

I'm English and have read this in old books, but never heard it. It's definitely not contemporary; fag pretty much exclusively means cigarette in most parts of the country. I'm sure it's "acceptable" here in the UK because fag isn't a slur, but I'd wager a lot of people would just be very confused.

In US English, "fag" is a derogatory term for homosexuals.  I strongly recommend you don't use it as it's highly offensive, and if someone thinks you are referring to a person with that word, you are not going to have a good time. That said, I will acknowledge in the above examples it'd be hard to misread them as referring to people.  So it might be recognized as meaning something else - though I've never heard this usage before.  I think the closest American English equivalent is to call something "a drag" instead.

Native (UK) here, never heard it used like this. Only as slang for a cigarette or a homophobic slur.

Uh, no. Not in the US. That might get you punched here

Yeah I wouldn’t say this, it’s outdated and also the f word is a slur

I actually came across this just a few days ago while reading a British novel from 1932 and had to look it up. I've been reading English books (old and recent) for decades and don't remember ever encountering it before.

This is extremely offensive in the US (specifically a homophobic slur) and any other intended meaning would not be understood.

I’ve never heard this. I’ve only heard this word in the context of a cigarette (UK), and a really derogatory slur (US).

I'm from Scotland and I've never heard this used in such a way. I've only ever heard it used to describe cigarettes or as the negative term to describe gay people

In the US you might not want to use this one

No, it's archaic..

As a gay person I would, at minimum, throw a drink in your face if I heard you say this.

No-one says that these days, I've (UK Native) never heard it used that way, it might have been common 100 years ago but these days we'd say "faff". "Making your own pasta is a bit of a FAFF but it's worth it." etc.

You might hear this in a period drama from the 1930s but it wouldn't be common usage now

I think it at least was a more UK thing. I wouldn’t use this as a normal expression, most people may take it to mean something very different, very much a phrase that has dropped out of favor, like how the word “gay” means “happy.”

I've never heard the term, pretty sure I'd use *pain* in place of fag there. But as a kid in the 60s, we did say we were fagged out, meaning exhausted.

Here in America, someone would a hundred percent think you’re calling them a slur. In the UK I’m not sure what they say. I know fag can relate to cigarettes, but maybe this one is just outdated and that’s why I haven’t heard it before?

It's old fashioned. I know what it means and I'm a New Zealander.

I deal with a lot of teens in the UK. While you could use it for cigarette, teens absolutely use it as a slur. 

No. This is bullshit.

Given that other English people are saying it's not commonly used now, I'm inclined to agree that this not only a solely British turn of phrase, it is going out of use even in the UK. I'm not from there, but I have watched a lot of British YouTube and such, so I'd say I'm more familiar with British English than a fair bit of Americans; I have not heard that used once.

Don't say this in the US... very different meaning

By British friends say “fag” means something boring or tiring as in the definition. Someone would say “I was going to mow the lawns but I couldn’t be fagged”. It can also mean a cigarette. Don’t use the word though because it can be used as a derogatory term for a gay man, especially in American English.

This is pretty old-school, and possibly more of an upper or upper-middle class thing. It may be related to the custom of “fagging” in elite private schools like Eton (which in England are called “public schools”, for reasons too tedious to get into here), where younger boys acted as servants (“fags”) to the prefects (older pupils given some supervisory responsibilities over the rest of the student body): their duties purportedly included things like warming toilet seats before the prefects used them.

This is not a common expression and I would *strongly* suggest avoiding it in any context. At best, it's very dated and regional, and would be odd from a non-native speaker, at worst it's going to be interpreted as a slur.

It's old-fashioned but not altogether unheard of. I think most people (in the UK, anyway) would describe a boring, laborious task as a 'slog' rather than a 'fag'.

i’m american and please don’t ever use this lol

I would recommend avoiding this word completely - regardless of whether you happen to be visiting parts of the UK where they use it or not. In the vast majority of English speaking cultures, it is a *very* offensive slur.

British here, am aware of this usage, but it is not common (currently) even in the UK, may well be used more commonly in some areas but suspect the homophobic associations have done for it, especially when there are so many similar phrases (pointed out by other users). I would consider this seriously advanced level English, do not use this phrase as a non native speaker, and frankly even as a native speaker don’t try to introduce it into your normal speech if it isn’t there anyway.

Outside of stories/documentaries involving private schools for most of my life fag solely meant a cigarette. Nowadays it can still be used for that but is also used as a homophobic slur depending on context.

Probably don't say that

UK: Sometimes its a Slur The US: IT IS ALWAYS A SLUR

This isn’t in common usage and as far as I know it’s a public school term. 

No and do not say "fag" word in North America unless you want to get in a fight. Also, if you do want to get in a fight, there are less offensive ways to do it.

Fagging was a traditional practice in British public schools and also at many other boarding schools, whereby younger pupils were required to act as personal servants to the eldest boys. Tom Brown's Schooldays, a book from 1857, features it.

I guarantee you no one will assume this meaning.

Some people also call cigarrettes like this.

Heard this expression, but it’s not normally used any more. It’s too loaded, with ‘fag’ being perceived as a slur.

I use “such a faFF” in this circumstance, I have never heard this and would be utterly shocked if I heard someone say this

It's not commonly used, I assume it's falling out of use because of the somewhat overlapping negative US usage of "fag" to mean a gay man. A substitute that will work in all those examples is "faff", which also has the separate meaning of being useless work - "the boss has me faffing about with spreadsheets instead of doing my job". NB that use of "fag" to mean a cigarette is still very common. There's no real overlap with the gay man meaning.

Absolutely not in America... Fag is a word you are only allowed to use if you're part of the Queer community or are homophobic. If you're not either Queer or someone who hates Queers you don't get to use it here.  We are aware of the old timey meaning of a "bundle of sticks" but supposedly that's why it came to mean gay man. Cause they'd burn effeminate or gay men along with the women they thought were witches. May be true, may not. 

Very outdated and somewhat posh. Plus its use as a slur of course. It has died out even more than saying "gay" to mean happy.

You are not a 1920’s schoolboy. Don’t say it.

If you spend your time reading books published before 1970, you'll understand this phrase. Is it used in actual spoken conversation today? No, not acceptable.

I've never heard this word used like this, I would associate "fag" with a slit for gay people

I wouldn't use that form. Instead, if you're going to use this approach, I'd suggest "a drag" instead of "a fag" (as in it feels like dragging a large weight around with you, not the sense of cross dressing), or better still "a pain"

You probably DONT ever want to use the term "fag" in the US, in any context. Here, it is a low-class insult to a specific population. It carries some shock value, and It could get you hurt.

Worth knowing, and it is still used to a limited extent in the UK, but I wouldn’t bother trying to use it. Setting yourself up for a fall.

I'm hoping its actually a mishearing of faff instead of fag.

Even when it was acceptable to use "fag" in the US, I never heard it used in this context.

That term is a *very* derogatory, hateful slur in the United States against gay people. It's extremely offensive and should not be said. In the UK, I've heard that term used to refer to a cigarette, but never a general annoyance, as indicated here.

I'm not sure about British English, but I know that in American English, "be a fag" would mean "be a homosexual"

The word that fits those situations is "faff". Fag / faggot has lots of meanings, they're all as like an ersatz version of something else. A bundle of sticks isn't a log. A younger schoolboy isn't a valet. A mince-lump isn't a steak. A cigarette isn't a cigar.

Fellas is it gay to cook spaghetti?

My mum says this but it's not that common anymore.

No one uses this expression in the US. If you use it, people might think you’re being homophobic, so I would avoid it.

I do commonly say something is "a faff" which matches the description. Something tiresome do do; like washing the dishes by hand is such a faff.

As a non-straight American putting off making his bed, the first example phrase is making me laugh

I'm from the UK, 27. I have never heard it used like this before and would raise an eye if I heard it today. I would basically use the same sentences with "faff" or "drag"

A lot of people used this while I was growing up, including my mother. We were in the south of England but I think she brought it with her from the midlands. I would hesitate to use it now purely because it's likely to confuse people.

Fag is a slur in American English, unlike in British English where its a cigarette Saying "be/being a fag" to someone in 2025 will 1000% be misinterpreted, and if used online will likely get you banned from some communities. The usage here sounds like you could use "a drag" instead

In the US that might get you in some...issues. That word is used as a cigarette in the UK and a slur in the US. Be VERY careful using that word.

do NOT say that in America. It might be a British thing, but absolutely not here

To be fair, most people in England are raging homophobes. Just because it's a common idiom doesn't mean it isn't also malicious.

dont say this

To me, these sentences would make sense if it used the word "drag" instead, maybe because they rhyme it got mixed up?

Uhh, no. "Fag," at least in modern US English, is a very offensive way to call someone "gay." I believe in Britain it's still used to mean a cigarette, but I'd avoid using the word entirely, particularly online.

I have never heard this ever, it was always "such a faff" or "bit of a faff" (or slog/bore/chore, etc). Baring in mind that my parents are in their 60s and working class, while my grandparents are middle/upper-class and in their late 80s. A fag is either a cigarette, or, well, it has the same negative connotations as it does in the US. Even fag's usage to mean cigarette has gradually faded out in a lot of areas since the rise of social media and more Americanisms making their way over here. People will mostly understand context clues, such as "sorry mate, you got a fag?", but in general usage, most will say "cig" or "ciggy" nowadays.

Grammatically acceptable, yes. Socially, no.

Never heard this, then again I've never been to the UK, but it could be a mistranslation of "be a drag", as it works in place of "fag" in these examples.

Definitely NOT in the United States, just FYI. That word has a singular meaning here, and it’s not nice.

If I read this in a passage of if text I would assume it was written in the 1950s or earlier, possibly very early 60s. Not used at all now unless somebody is affecting 1950's speech patterns or using it ironically.

The use of the word fag in the UK is very different to its uses in the US in general.

"Mind if I bum a fag, you puff?" Totally acceptable way of asking for a cigarette whilst making 3 puns in England.

Do not use this in any form of conversation. If misunderstood it could be interpreted as a slur.

Okay... haven't read a really good comprehensive answer to this question here for both English english and American english, so I'll give it a shot! The term "fag" is a shortening of the word "faggot" which in the broadest sense is an outdated word meaning "bundle." In my experience with American and English literature, this almost always is used to describe a bundle of wood and sticks one might use to fuel a fire. In AMERICAN english: 🇺🇸 We almost never use "fag" or "faggot," and when they are used, they almost always are used as a derogatory word for gay men. Apparently, sometimes gay men will use the word for each other as a term of ironic endearment, but I can't confirm this from experience. In ENGLISH english: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿/🇬🇧 "Fag" and "faggot" are sometimes used in a less offensive context, and you can see the words in literature published even into the 1950s (for example, in J.R.R Tolkien's Lord of the Rings). "Fag" can mean cigarette in some cases, and you are more likely to see phrases like "I'm fagged (or tired) out." Both terms are still used an offensive names for gay men. In AUSTRALIAN & NZ english: 🇦🇺/🇳🇿 I have no clue. Australian english tends to use "special words" most of us english speakers probably wouldn't say to be completely honest. SUMMARY: Very few people would know the phrase you asked about, and chances are that if they did, they probably are older and from one of a few specific regions of England. My advice is that unless you are specifically speaking of a "faggot of sticks" (in which case you might as well say "bundle,") it's not worth it to risk offending someone accidentally. If you are in the UK and someone says "fag" not at a person, it probably is fine, though. "Being a *drag*" is more universal and makes more sense to everyone.

Dude from the US here: don’t say this. Lots of people are not going to take hearing that well

Never heard this in America

This is a slur against queer people that will get you hurt in the wrong context. Save everyone the trouble and just do not use it.

My grandmothers name was Gay and she married a man named Richard and they called him Duck. They would have had a horrible experience in this timeline.

In US English, this is a homophonic slur

I know I heard "chuck me a fag" a whole lot. Its used mostly as slang for a smoke

Yeah, do NOT start saying it. I’ve never heard it, and 99.99% of the time fag is used as either slang for cigarettes or as a slur for gay people. Even for cigs I feel it’s a bit weird to use fag, mostly because of the far more common usage as a slur.

Their perjorative slang for a gay guy is poof, or poofter. Sometimes, id heard "you're a right Nancy then innit!?" Or Nancy-boy. I lived otin London nearly 5 years and there are nasty slang words I "still" have no translation fir. Pillock is my fave ... It sounds so grand lol

I think a good rule of thumb is to just avoid using that word in all situations because the narrow situations where it might be OK are going to be pretty rare overall, and it's probably easier to not use it than to learn the narrow situation where it might be fine. At best it's unnecessary, at worse it's a slur that could permanently damage your relationships or reputation and cause someone undue pain. Also it's never OK in the US but I can't speak for any other English speaking countries in that regard.

I‘ve only heard “fag” or “fags” used as an alternative to cigarettes. As in, “we used to be able to smoke a fag in the pub.” Or “pack of fags.” I’ve never heard “fag” referring to something as being boring or a drag.

It comes from the archaic use of the word, which meant at first a large bundle of sticks, then later, any heavy or unwieldy load. It also became slang for a (pack of) cigarette sticks.

East England here, never heard ‘fag’ used like that

Unless this is a part of your native regional dialect (which it isn't because you are a learner) I would recommend not to use this phrase.

Old fashioned but it was normal until the last generation. I'd expect "faff" rather than "fag" now but this is in Scotland (I'm not sure the words are even related etymologically, and they don't quite mean the same).

Can confirm. I make my own pasta and I’m a bit of a fa-…I’m gay.

Fagged means really tired or exhausted, so presumably this use of fag is related to that.

Outdated and unacceptable usage. People I know would avoid any use of fag or faggot as offensive. (Gay Texan).

I’ve never heard this definition of fag. Don’t use this. Or really, don’t use the word fag at all in any sense.

Anywhere in the US if you say the word "fag", they'll assume you are are using it as a slur rather than referring to a cigarette or whatever this is

A slur, term for boring, and a cigarette? What the fuck.

This is not said and don’t say it it’s offensive lol

it might be in British english, I don't know for sure, but OH MY GOD DO NOT SAY THIS IN THE UNITED STATES. "fag" in American english is an abbreviation of a homophobic slur, so... it wouldn't be great to use it in really any context if you are not gay.

This is a new one for me. I had never heard or read that word used in this way before this evening. In British English a fag is universally understood as slang for a cigarette. It would never be similarly used in American English where it means either an openly gay or effeminate man. This use is also informal and could be perceived as derogatory. There is some confusion with the word faggot. In American English this has a meaning similar to fag, but is perhaps more emphatic and could be quite offensive. Faggot in British English is a perfectly standard word meaning a bundle of wooden sticks generally used to start fires.

Never heard this. It's either regional or just old. 'Fag' is used in casual speech to refer to a cigarette, but using it in this manner is not normal.

Isn’t this just what being a “drag” is?

In most regions of America, we'd say "drag" in or "chore" in all of these cases. The examples above would definitely be considered slurs. The word is more common in the UK, but I've heard it for cigarettes, and not in this context. Unsure about other English-speaking regions/countries. 

The American equivalent uses "bitch" instead of "fag" and it's commonly used.

It says this is mainly a UK expression and I can confirm I have never heard this word used this way in the US in my life.

In American English, this would be misunderstood as a slur against gay people.

I don’t know about England, but it is a slur in America.

Listen, nobody can stop you from doing anything, but I will tell you right now; If you use the word fag and you're not gay, nobody will like you. And the people who do, you don’t *want* to like you. Fag is considered a slur against gay people, and this is an extremely outdated term. Don't use it. It's offensive and does nothing but harm to people around you and to you

NEVER say that in the U.S.

In America that's a slur against gay people so none of those sentences are appropriate here. I know in the UK it has some different connotations though, so it might be a regional thing.

I won’t personally recommend to use it since it’s a slur to insult gay people

I won't speak for its usage in the UK, but the word "fag" in America is **only** ever used a slur for homosexual people, and using it makes most people deeply uncomfortable. But these examples remind me of the word "drag," which can mean *a singular inhale of a cigarette*, like in "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers. > Now I'm falling asleep and she's calling a cab While he’s having a smoke and she’s taking a drag There's also the phrase "be a drag" which means roughly the same thing as "be a fag", and you us it instead to mean basically the same thing. And while "drag" can also refer to the performative act of crossdressing, to call something "a drag" does not sound nearly as derogatory to American English speakers.

Not in the last 75 years, maybe longer.

I know that at least in the 70s this was used outside of the context of homosexuality. In the musical "Company" in the song "You Could Drive a Person Crazy," they say they could "understand a person, if the person was a fag," since, it has been changed to "if the person was a drag," which has a similar connotation. It was written by a gay man, Stephen Sondheim, and I was always curious if the word just wasn't offensive back then and was just common parlance for a gay man, or if it had a different meaning. But it's interesting seeing this, especially since it later changed to "a drag." However, you should never say this nowadays as it will not be understood as anything except a slur, at least in the US.

UK Midlands and have never heard this in this context. It's used fairly regularly to mean cigarette, but people are aware of the US slur too.

Do NOT say this. F\*g is a homophobic slur in American English, and while it may have different connotations in England, it's still safer to steer clear of anything that can be construed as a slur.

Never heard it, certainly not in person in the US and also not in UK media. Do not recommend saying it.

I’m 50 and from the north of England. Never ever hear it. Faff would work in all this examples.

Outdated

Very old fashioned, and unlikely to be used in the UK nowadays because of the US meaning.

Whether it's a 'normal' expression depends on where you are. In North American English, the word 'fag' is considered a very crude slur, and the expression 'be a fag' doesn't exist here in the States. However, in the U.K. (and Australia) the word doesn't have the same offensive connotation (it's slang for a cigarette there). I don't know how common the expression 'be a fag' is over there so hopefully a Brit can chime in about that. If you are worried about offending any Americans, or just want a more broadly understood expression, you can use the word 'drag' to mean pretty much the same thing in all the examples given.

Ok as a native English speaking American who also is gay this is WILDLY hilarious to me for all the wrong reasons 😂. Also, yes, as others have noted, it’s probably best to stay away from this phrase in the United States.

Do not say these things anywhere in North America. The word fag in American English is an abbreviated slur for a homosexual man. Slight difference there!

Don’t try saying it anywhere

I'm not a native speaker, but I have lived in the UK for 13 years now. My husband is a native. Neither of us have ever heard of this idiom. If it was "faff" then of course, we use that all the time, but we've never heard or seen anyone use this. The only common use I've heard for "fag" is a cigarette. Bizarre. After brief googling, the only examples I'm finding are older literacy (Jane Austen, Sarah Josepha Hale). Does anyone actually have any info on current use? Otherwise I'm gonna go with "this is an obsolete saying nobody uses these days Edit: Well, another use for "faggot" would be a type of meatball, but that's not really relevant.

I've never heard this expression (UK) and would probably think you were a homophobe if you said it

do not use this in the US, it's extremely derogatory :)

No, under no circumstances should you ever use the word “fag.” It’s theoretically used in the UK to mean cigarette, but I would be surprised if anyone actually uses it that way. The internet makes these sort of things less local. It’s short for “faggot” here in the US, which is a homophobic slur.