loose end

noun

1. a part or piece left hanging, unattached, or unused:

   Remind me to tack down that loose end on the stairway carpet.

2. an unsettled detail, as of a business matter:

   The arrangements have been made, except for a few loose ends.

loose end

noun

1. a detail that is left unsettled, unexplained, or incomplete
2. at a loose end
   without purpose or occupation

Word History and Origins

Origin of loose end¹

First recorded in 1540–50

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. at loose ends, in an uncertain or unsettled situation or position: Also at a loose end.

   Ever since leaving the company, he's been at loose ends.

Example Sentences

Critics overall favored the miniseries, but fans “were frustrated by the loose ends they felt they were left with,” as Bishop writes.

From Los Angeles Times

The report left a few dangling loose ends, however, that deserve further investigation by Congress and the Pentagon inspector general:

From Salon

While a few extra characters are left at loose ends and therefore feel extraneous, those aren’t necessary for the communication of the central ideas of class warfare and hypocrisy.

From Los Angeles Times

Finding herself at a loose end, Janet sneaked into the recording studio in family's backyard in Encino, California, and started playing a tune she called Fantasy.

From BBC

Will we have to wait a year for loose ends to be tied up?

From New York Times