あげく（に）after all that, a bad end
After a long, wearing process, this is the sorry way it ended: all that dithering, waiting or arguing, and look what came of it. What follows is usually bad news or a letdown.
After dithering for ages, I went home that day without buying anything.
How to form it
Verb in the た-form + あげく（に） ／ Noun + の + あげく（に）
迷ったあげく, 議論のあげく. The に is usually left off. In kanji it is 挙句.
- Before it
- Something that dragged on or went too far, often with さんざん or 何度も: 迷った, 悩んだ, 待たされた. Or a noun: 議論, 交渉, けんか.
- After it
- How it ended, and it is usually not good: nothing decided, effort wasted, things made worse. Often with 結局.
- Tone
- Fed up, rueful or critical.
- Where you'll meet it
- Conversation and writing alike: complaints, stories against yourself, news of things going wrong.
In use
After agonizing over whether to get a job or go on studying, I couldn't choose either and decided to take a year off.
After hours of argument, the meeting ended without reaching a conclusion.
After being kept waiting a whole hour, I was told that reception had closed for the day.
Two things to know
末 or あげく?
Both come after a long process. 末 reports where it ended, with no complaint in it, and the ending is often good. あげく says it ended badly, or in something you regret.
After a lot of thought, I decided to quit my job.
Thought through, and settled.
After all that agonizing, I decided to quit my job.
All that thinking, and it came to this. Not a happy ending.
It doesn't fit a happy ending
Sounds odd: 十年に
After ten years of research, they succeeded in developing a new drug.
It sounds as if the success were a pity. Good news takes 末に: 研究を重ねた末に.
Close neighbours
末（に）N2
The same long road with no complaint in it. The ending is often good.
After much hard training, she was chosen for the national team.
始末だN1
Ends a sentence with the last and worst thing in a run of trouble. The two often go together.
After turning up late again and again, he has now gone as far as staying away without a word.
結局N3
"In the end": an adverb for how things turned out. By itself it can bring a good ending too.
After going around store after store, I ended up buying nothing.
Check yourself
1Which ending fits?
さん
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which sentence sounds natural?
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
あげくの果てに is a stronger version: "and to cap it all".
After giving everyone around him the runaround, he ended up dropping the whole plan.
More sentences
After repeated attempts to repair it, the watch ended up being thrown out.
After round after round of negotiations, the contract fell through.
After piling excuse upon excuse, he ended up shifting the blame onto a subordinate.
I re-entered the password again and again, and ended up locked out of my account.