From The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler:
Duddy lit a cigarette off his butt. "How's Auntie Ida?" he asked.
Is the 'butt' buttocks or the part of a cigarette that is left after it has been smoked?
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2The first interpretation would imply quite the interesting context...– chepnerApr 29, 2017 at 16:22
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I've heard of people striking matches off their butt[ocks] (eg, when wearing denim), so this confused me for a second.– user32344Apr 29, 2017 at 16:28
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@barrycarter: that's exactly what I was confused about. I remember seeing something like that in movies.– whitecapApr 29, 2017 at 17:57
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I think John Wayne did it, but it was more off his hip than his butt.– user32344Apr 29, 2017 at 18:16
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1 Answer
It's the butt of the last cigarette that he'd been smoking. It's an action characteristic of chain smoking.
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One query - why is "his" correct here, instead of necessarily being "its"? Apr 29, 2017 at 18:03
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But wouldn't it then be "Duddy lit his cigarette off its butt"? Wouldn't "a" suggest that it hasn't been referenced before? Apr 29, 2017 at 18:14
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1Using its in that context would end up referring to the cigarette in that sentence - which is not the previous cigarette, its the next (new) one.– PhylypApr 29, 2017 at 18:15
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4@GoodDeeds I see it as having an ellipsed term: "Duddy lit a cigarette off his [old cigarette's] butt." Apr 29, 2017 at 18:59