bite the biscuit

present singular third person bites the biscuit · participle present biting the biscuit · past bit the biscuit · participle past bitten the biscuit

1. slangTo 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

   1 more example

   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

   Synonyms: die

2. idiomaticTo 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

   1 more example

   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

   Synonyms: face up to