Thread: Последняя свинья

Кто или что "последняя свинья"?

Is it the fattest, grubbiest pig who eats and carries on in the rudest way possible, in the absence even of other pigs to moderate his behaviour? Is it an informal expression? Where does it come from? How is it used?

In expressions like this "последний" means "the worst kind of". It can be used with different derogative words, not only "pig".
Он поступил как последний подонок - He acted like the worst kind of scum.

Originally Posted by SarochkaNZ

Кто или что "последняя свинья"?

The "last" here means "there could be no worse than that". For example:

Он нажрался, как последняя свинья. (Meaning he got very drunk.)
Он влил в себя всю оставшуюся выпивку, как последняя свинья. (Meaning he is ignorant towards the others.)

In general, "свинья" is portrayed in Russian culture as a dirty, ignorant, lazy, and indiscriminate animal. So, comparing a person to "the last pig" means the person has achieved the highest degree of "pig-ness" possible.

The ultimate pig

The piggiest of the pigs.