Sorry, I should have mentioned. For anyone else reading, "fag end" refers to the end of a length of material such as cloth or especially rope. The short end of

Sorry, I should have mentioned. For anyone else reading, "fag end" refers to the end of a length of material such as cloth or especially rope. The short end of a rope which is left over from tying a knot is the "fag end". Another similar term is "bitter end", the end of a rope abaft the bitts, that is, the part that remains inboard on a ship. A useful visual reference can be found here: http://books.google.com.pa/books?id=mrDgmObwGZcC&pg=PA387&lpg=PA387&dq=visual+dictionary+bitter+end&source=bl&ots=bb3BM4k-ME&sig=QPmBtRz2EjlhrPTD0yO3rUM_rFs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=beI6VIHCFpPPggSOkIGABA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=visual%20dictionary%20bitter%20end&f=false http://books.google.com.pa/books?id=mrDgmObwGZcC&pg=PA387&lp...