bite the biscuit

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bite the biscuit (third-person singular simple present bites the biscuit, present participle biting the biscuit, simple past bit the biscuit, past participle bitten the biscuit)

1. (slang) To die.
   • 1987, David Scanlan, "Way up north," Ottawa Citizen, 16 Feb., p. D6 (retrieved 19 Aug. 2010):

     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.

   • 2007, Jack Henderson, Circumference of Darkness‎, →ISBN, page 199:

     Trained assassins shoot people in the head, and that should be a relatively painless way to bite the biscuit.

2. (idiomatic) To undertake an unpleasant task or to acknowledge an unfavorable situation or responsibility.
   • 1999, Robert Hartman, Masters of the Millennium‎, →ISBN, page 5:

     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.

   • 2003, Steve Duno, Every Dog's Survival Guide to Living with a Neurotic Owner‎, →ISBN, page 225:

     Sometimes owners need to bite the biscuit and call in professional help in order to solve a nasty canine behavioral problem.

• (die): See Thesaurus:die
• (undertake an unpleasant task or acknowledge an unfavorable situation): face up to