Crosswords5 mins ago
dog end
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Describing someone/something as a 'dog' has, since the early 20th century, meant he/she/it is ugly or otherwise of inferior quality. In addition, the earliest reference to 'dog-ends' meant specifically those to be found in the roadside gutter, which could be re-rolled and re-used. Again, the suggestion is of poor quality.
In technical terms - and this may be of more significance - a tool such as pliers, designed for gripping, has been called a 'dog' since the 15th century. Presumably, that was on the basis that actual dogs clamp things in their mouths. Could it be, therefore, that the leftover end of a cigarette is the part that the smoker 'clamped in his mouth', as it were, whilst smoking it?