bite the biscuit

Verb

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.
   • 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

   Synonyms:

   die

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:

   face up to