Dictionary Definition
fag
Noun
1 offensive terms for an openly homosexual man
[syn: fagot, faggot, fairy, nance, pansy, queen, queer, poof, poove, pouf]
Verb
1 act as a servant for older boys, in British
public schools
2 work hard; "She was digging away at her math
homework"; "Lexicographers drudge all day long" [syn: labor, labour, toil, travail, grind, drudge, dig, moil]
3 exhaust or tire through overuse or great strain
or stress; "We wore ourselves out on this hike" [syn: tire, wear upon,
tire
out, wear, weary, jade, wear out,
outwear, wear down,
fag out,
fatigue] [ant: refresh] [also: fagging, fagged]fagging See fag
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Verb
fagging- present participle of fag
Extensive Definition
Fagging is the system in schools, and
particularly English public
schools, whereby younger pupils act as servants to the older
boys. Originally an emulation of domestic household task
distribution and paternal authority, fagging formerly included
harsh discipline and corporal
punishment. Bullying and even
sexual
abuse were also sometimes associated with it. Facing public
scrutiny, the practice of personal fagging has gradually been
discontinued during the 1970s and 1980s, but in most schools it has
been replaced by a system where junior boys are required to do
tasks for the benefit of the general school community.
British origins
Dr. Thomas
Arnold, headmaster of Rugby from
1828 to 1841, defined fagging as the power given by the supreme
authorities of the school to the Sixth Form, to be exercised by
them over younger boys. Older pupils, in a sense trustees, would take
responsibility for the behaviour of younger boys, thus helping the
staff to avoid chaos. Fagging was a fully established system at
Eton
and Winchester
in the 16th century, and is probably a good deal older.
During the 19th century, almost all English
public schools adopted a fagging system.
The right to fag carries with it certain
well-defined duties. The senior, called fag-master, also known as
the protector of his fags, is responsible for their happiness and
good conduct. In cases of bullying or injustice, their appeal is to
him, not to the form-master, or house master, and, except in the
gravest cases, all incidents are dealt with by the fag-master on
his own responsibility and without report to the master.
The duties undertaken by fags, the time taken,
and their general treatment, varied widely. Each school had its own
tradition. Until circa 1900 a fag's duties included such humble
tasks as blacking boots, brushing clothes and cooking breakfasts,
and there was no limit as to hours. Almost all the fag's spare time
could be so monopolized. Later, fagging was restricted to such
light tasks as running errands, bringing tea to the masters' study
and fagging at cricket or football. At many schools, fag-masters
were expected to reward their fags for their efforts at the end of
term by giving a monetary 'fag tip'.
The 1911 Britannica details an evolution of the
role at Eton
college. Roald Dahl
relates in his autobiography being told, as a fag, to warm toilet seats
for older boys at Repton.
Stephen
Fry describes a practice similar to fagging used as
punishment.
Examples of fagging feature in Julian
Mitchell's play Another
Country (1981), C. S.
Lewis's book Surprised by Joy, and Lindsay
Anderson's film If.... (1968).
Abolition of fagging
During the late 20th century, fagging fell out of use, as attitudes to education and child development changed. During the 1970s and 1980s fagging was abolished at most major public schools and school-sanctioned fagging was very rare by the turn of the millennium. Nevertheless, unofficial relics of fagging are still quite common in some of the leading British public schools .Legacy and counterparts
The practice is said to have survived as a colonial legacy in South Asia and Southern Africa, in combination with or shortened in time to harsh hazing (as a rite of passage), under the name of ragging.See also
Sources and references
fagging in Thai: แฟกกิง