bite the biscuit
verb1
Slang To die.
- 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:
- 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:
2
Idiomatic To undertake an unpleasant task or to acknowledge an unfavorable situation or responsibility; bite the bullet.
- 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:
- 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:
- Synonyms
- die, face up to