From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtop and tailtop and tailBritish EnglishDFC to cut the top and bottom off a piece of fruit or a vegetable → top
Examples from the Corpus
top and tail• Lengthier ones such as those in support of specific discovery are not suited and the standard part becomes little more than the top and tail.• There will be four engines in operation with two trains to push, pull, top and tail, and double-head.• Peel off the tough outer skin of the silk squash, or top and tail the courgettes.• There is no need to top and tail them. 