ugh...DBR, "fag" has another meaning...

[rthomas]

I'm not a big fan of Billy Packer, but when he says to Charlie Rose “you always fag out on that one” when Rose jokingly offered to be a runner for Packer at the Final Four. It doesn't mean what you think it does.

Back in the old days, when I was yound, "fag" had several meanings. One was to "tire out" or "wear down" as in "I'm fagged after running a mile".

Another meaning was "a cigarette" As in "You got any fags on you for a smoke?"

As much as you can criticize Packer for a number of things...this crack was probably benign and a sign of how old Packer is.

[throatybeard]

Packer also talks about how someone tired "needs a blow." I guess he's been reading Jane Eyre a lot.

[Atlanta Duke]

That word has several meanings, although one is in recurring use these days.

Look at the context in which Packer used the word, I do not think Packer used it as a synonym for cigarettes.

Of course we can look forward to some sort of bogus "clarification" from CBS Sports - maybe Packer will need to enter rehab like the Gray's Anatomy homophobe.

In the words of Don Imus, it really is time for the dog track for Packer.

[rthomas]

This makes more sense:
From the free dictionary.com:
Verb 1. fag out - exhaust or tire through overuse or great strain or stress; "We wore ourselves out on this hike"
wear down, wear out, wear upon, weary, tire out, fatigue, jade, outwear, tire, fag, wear
indispose - cause to feel unwell; "She was indisposed"
exhaust, tucker, tucker out, wash up, beat - wear out completely; "This kind of work exhausts me"; "I'm beat"; "He was all washed up after the exam"
overfatigue, overtire, overweary - tire excessively

From dictionary.com
1. to tire or weary by labor; exhaust (often fol. by out): The long climb fagged us out.
2. British. to require (a younger public-school pupil) to do menial chores.
3. Nautical. to fray or unlay the end of (a rope).
–verb (used without object) 4. Chiefly British. to work until wearied; work hard: to fag away at French.
5. British Informal. to do menial chores for an older public-school pupil.
–noun 6. Slang. a cigarette.
7. a fag end, as of cloth.
8. a rough or defective spot in a woven fabric; blemish; flaw.
9. Chiefly British. drudgery; toil.
10. British Informal. a younger pupil in a British public school required to perform certain menial tasks for, and submit to the hazing of, an older pupil.
11. a drudge.

[chrisheery]

but it seems he may just be the victim of a good vocabulary . . . possibly.

Verb 1. fag out - exhaust or tire through overuse or great strain or stress; "We wore ourselves out on this hike"
2. wear down, wear out, wear upon, weary, tire out, fatigue, jade, outwear, tire, fag, wear
3. indispose - cause to feel unwell; "She was indisposed"
4. exhaust, tucker, tucker out, wash up, beat - wear out completely; "This kind of work exhausts me"; "I'm beat"; "He was all washed up after the exam"
5. overfatigue, overtire, overweary - tire excessively

[CMS2478]

We already covered this in a thread below

[bloodevil]

I don't like Billy Packer at all. However, I am willing to give him a pass on his use of the word "fag" in the context in which he used it. I learned that definition in freshman highschool English 25 years ago. One of the many dangers of political correctness is that it allows the language to be hijacked to suit the conspiratorial needs of a minority (pick one.) Educated, tolerant individuals should be the vanguard of free speech. It appears that axiom has been turned on its head.

[tbyers11]

This makes more sense:
From the free dictionary.com:
Verb 1. fag out - exhaust or tire through overuse or great strain or stress;


The context is the key here. In the clip, Billy Packer is not saying that Charlie Rose doesn't work for him as a runner because he tires out. Packer's meaning is that Rose is going back on his word. I think this is an unfortunate colloquialism along the lines of "Welshing on a bet" that stereotypes a certain group of people of not being true to their word.

[feldspar]

Mountain. Molehill.

[rsvman]

If he really meant it perjoratively, I don't think it's making a mountain out of a molehill. I think it's offensive, and it perpetuates a stereotype.

[wilson]

One of the many dangers of political correctness is that it allows the language to be hijacked to suit the conspiratorial needs of a minority (pick one.) Educated, tolerant individuals should be the vanguard of free speech. It appears that axiom has been turned on its head.

A perfect illustration of this phenomenon was the DC mayoral staffer who ignited a firestorm for using the word "niggardly" a few years back, ultimately leading to his resignation under pressure:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/jan99/district27.htm

The irony of this sort of situation is that the very ones who jump on these words as signals of ignorance are in fact identifying themselves as the ignorant ones.