Fag packet
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Fag packet is a slang term for a packet of cigarettes widely used throughout the United Kingdom. Cigarettes in the UK are colloquially known as "fags".
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[edit] Common usage
As well as referring to a packet of cigarettes, ideas that have been thought up quickly are often referred to as being designed "on the back of a fag packet", showing that the person did not have time to find normal paper. A well known example of this is when commercial broadcaster ITV accused the BBC's planned licence fee increases as being "back-of-a-fag-packet figures"[1].
Due to lower rates of smoking the phrase is becoming less commonly used, with "back-of-the-envelope calculation" being touted as a more politically correct alternative.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Singh, Anita. "BBC slated on "fag packet" fee", The Scotsman, 2006-05-24. Retrieved on March 8, 2007.
