〜あげく（に）
After all that 〜あげく（に）
Meaning
"After all that ~, in the end …" — a long, troublesome process ending badly.
Formation
[verb た form] + あげく（に） · [noun] の + あげく
Notes
The outcome is always unwelcome and the lead-up must be long or exhausting — 長い間悩んだあげく. A short or pleasant preamble does not fit. Its neutral twin is 〜末に, which can end well.
Examples
長い間（ながいあいだ）悩（なや）んだあげく、会社（かいしゃ）を辞（や）めました。
After agonising over it for a long time, I quit the company.
Breakdown
さんざん道に迷（みちにまよ）ったあげくに、遅刻（ちこく）してしまった。
After getting thoroughly lost, I ended up being late.
Breakdown
兄弟（きょうだい）げんかのあげく、二人（ふたり）とも泣き出（なきだ）した。
After all that squabbling, both of them burst into tears.
Breakdown
書き直（かきなお）したあげく、結局（けっきょく）出（だ）さなかった。
After rewriting it, in the end I never submitted it.
Breakdown
高（たか）い機械（きかい）を買（か）ったあげく、一度（いちど）も使（つか）っていない。
After going and buying an expensive machine, I have not used it once.
Breakdown
⚠️ Often confused with
〜末（に）
After much ~ 〜末（に）
"After much ~, finally …" — a long process reaching its conclusion.