fagging

Fagging refers to the practice, traditional in British public schools, where younger students serve as personal attendants to older ones—running errands, cleaning shoes, making tea.

The system was meant to teach discipline and hierarchy but often enabled bullying and abuse.

The verb fag means to work hard or become exhausted: I've been fagging away at this report all day.

A fag end is the remnant of something, especially the butt of a cigarette—which is why fag became British slang for cigarette.

In American English, fag is a slur for a gay man, making the British cigarette usage sound jarring to American ears.