Roach — Cannabis Slang Definition

Last verified: April 2026

Definition

A roach is what’s left of a joint or blunt once it’s been smoked down — typically the last half-inch or so of rolled paper, the crutch (if there was one), and a small amount of burned flower. Too short to comfortably pinch without burning fingers, too much flower left inside to throw away. Some smokers save roaches in a jar for later use.

Etymology & Origin

The word is onomatopoetic and visual: a short, brown, dark-ended joint stub looks like a cockroach. The slang dates to at least the 1930s in American cannabis subculture. The Mexican folk song “La Cucaracha” (“The Cockroach”) is the most commonly cited etymological link — one verse famously references a cockroach that can’t walk because it has no “marijuana to smoke,” making the word’s cannabis-adjacent heritage audible. By the 1960s, the term was universal in American English and had spawned the accessory category of “roach clips” — small metal clips, sometimes feathered, used to hold the stub without burning fingers.

Usage

• “Save the roach — I’ll crack it open for a bowl later.”
• “Hand me the roach clip, this is getting hot.”
• “That’s a roach, not a joint. Put it out.”

Disposal etiquette: don’t flick a still-warm roach into grass or a trash can. Ash it fully, or better, drop it into a mint tin dedicated for the purpose. Roaches are also the main reason crutches exist — a joint with a crutch can be smoked almost to the tip without scorching lips.

Related Terms

See crutch (the cardboard filter that turns a roach into a mouthpiece), cherry, and scooby snack.