Dictionary

bite the biscuit en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (slang) To die.
   • Trained assassins shoot people in the head, and that should be a relatively painless way to bite the biscuit. 2007, Jack Henderson, Circumference of Darkness, →ISBN, page 199:
   • David Scott . . . admits he "nearly bit the biscuit," during a 1985 trip to Kluane National Park in the Yukon. Scott was crossing a chest-deep river with a racing current, when he slipped. The near-freezing water whisked him away. 1987 February 16, David Scanlan, “Way up north”, in Ottawa Citizen, retrieved 19 Aug 2010, page D6:
2. (idiomatic) To undertake an unpleasant task or to acknowledge an unfavorable situation or responsibility; bite the bullet.
   • Sometimes owners need to bite the biscuit and call in professional help in order to solve a nasty canine behavioral problem. 2003, Steve Duno, Every Dog's Survival Guide to Living with a Neurotic Owner, →ISBN, page 225:
   • Weibe, who fought the effects of allergy medicine and a winless streak since the Hardee's Golf Classic (1986), had to bite the biscuit and settle for second place. 1999, Robert Hartman, Masters of the Millennium, →ISBN, page 5:

Forms

Synonyms

face up to (undertake an unpleasant task or acknowledge an unfavorable situation) · die (die)