Roach

⚠️ Transatlantic terminology clash. In the United States and most of North America, a roach is the burnt-down end stub of a smoked joint or blunt — the final short segment too small to hold comfortably. American roaches often contain resin-saturated, partially unburned flower, and are commonly saved, collected, or combined into a "roach joint." Holding the stub during the final hits traditionally required a roach clip, a small metal tweezer or hemostat. The term appears in U.S. slang by 1938, likely derived from the Mexican-Spanish folk song "La Cucaracha," whose lyrics reference running out of marijuana.

In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and most of the Commonwealth, a roach means something entirely different: it is the rolled piece of thin cardboard used as a filter or mouthpiece at the end of a joint or spliff — what Americans call a crutch, filter, or tip. The difference reflects rolling culture: European joints are typically spliffs containing tobacco, making a cardboard filter essential to prevent tar leakage and lip burns, so the term migrated onto the filter itself. U.S. joints were traditionally unfiltered, leaving roach available to name the leftover stub. Writers and consumers should be explicit about which meaning is intended. → See also: Crutch, Filter, Tip.

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