fag packet

English

Noun

fag packet (plural fag packets)

1. (UK, informal) A cigarette packet.
   • 2023 October 18, Christian Wolmar, “The back of a fag packet used for unworkable rail plans”, in RAIL, number 994, pages 44-45:

     But what they have done is to make an announcement and then patch it up with a 'back of a fag packet' announcement... and then practically banned fag packets! […] The list may have sounded impressive as Rishi Sunak rattled them off in his speech, but it did not take more than a cursory examination to reveal that the fag packet had been used to draw it up.

Usage notes

Often used disparagingly in "fag-packet calculation" or "calculated on the back of a fag packet". The term continues in use despite the fact that the British government decreed that all cigarette and tobacco packets shall be coloured black and covered in health warnings and extreme images, making writing on the back virtually impossible.

Related terms

• back-of-the-envelope