cancerette

English

Etymology

Blend of cancer +‎ cigarette. First use appears c. 1953 in the The Country Gentleman.

Pronunciation

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Noun

cancerette (plural cancerettes)

1. (slang, derogatory) A cigarette.
   • 1958, National Council of Labour Colleges (Great Britain), Plebs League (Great Britain) (contributors), The Plebs, Volumes 50-51, page 180:

     Moreover, so far as I know, only one public authority has started an official campaign to draw the attention of the population to the danger of death from what the Americans call the cancerette.

   • 1959, Peter Vansittart, Orders of Chivalry, page 13:

     'Have some Widows' Mourners, my silent friend. Or a Cancerette.'

   • 1966, George William Target, The Scientists, A Novel, page 98:

     The man in the white-lab coat, Dr. Charles Detrick, stubs his half-smoked cancerette in the smaller of the two sinks

Synonyms

• (cigarette) cancer stick (derogatory), cig, ciggy, coffin nail, fag (UK), smoke