top and tailing

Verb

top and tail (third-person singular simple present tops and tails or top and tails, present participle topping and tailing or top and tailing, simple past and past participle topped and tailed or top and tailed)

1. (transitive) To add to the beginning and end of (something), such as the salutation and valediction added to a letter.
2. (transitive) To remove the top and bottom of (an item), for example when preparing carrots for cooking.
3. (transitive) To set the limits of (an audio tape recording, a digital video file, etc.) by adding physical markers or by trimming unwanted portions.
   • They are retrieved when needed, topped and tailed ready for use, and stored on the newsroom system […]2002, Carole Fleming, The Radio Handbook, page 128
4. (colloquial, transitive) To bathe (a small child) in a minimal way by wiping their face and bottom.
5. (UK, transitive) To provide (a train) with a locomotive at each end, for ease of reversal.
   • All services to Rhymney were top and tailed by locos that had been associated with the line over the years; namely, Classes 33, 37, 47 and 50.2018, Nicholas Wilcock, Arriva Trains Wales

See all 8 meanings of top and tail