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biscuit
DCHP-2 (Nov 2012)
expression — expression, slang, originally Military
had the biscuit: to no longer be good for anything, to be finished, to be useless.
Type: 5. Frequency — The phrase "had the biscuit" is presently almost exclusively found in Canada (see Chart 1). It might also be of Canadian origin, given the limitation to the .ca domain. Although the earliest quotation found here is from The New York Times, the quotation in question is in an article about Toronto and cites a Canadian tourism official as using the phrase (see the 1964 quotation). "Had the biscuit" has several nuanced meanings, including to be over (see e.g. the 1964 quotation), to be finished with (see e.g. the 2012 quotation), to be useless (see e.g. the 2005 quotation), and others.
See also COD-2, s.v. "biscuit" (5), which is marked "Cdn".
See also COD-2, s.v. "biscuit" (5), which is marked "Cdn".
Speculation links the origin of the phrase to World War I trench warfare, in a number of different scenarios. The most plausible of the WWI rationales is that wounded soldier would be laid on mattresses, called biscuits in military slang (see OED-3, s.v. biscuit (1)(b)(b), 'Mil. slang. A square brown palliasse or mattress'. If the soldier died, he had the biscuit. This origin is conjecture, given the lack of supporting quotations before the 1960s. If this origin can be confirmed, the term would be a Canadian preservation (Type 2 Canadianism).
Quotations
1964
[For Canadians, the Ex is a final summer flame. When the promotional banners go up, a tourism official said, "it means fall's right around the corner and summer's had the biscuit."]
1973
So you've had the biscuit in the controlled-circulation market. What do you do next? Well, if you've been floggin pseudo-sexual success for half a year, why not go all the way and start showing a little flesh instead of handing out all those bedroom nuances?
1979
John Lundrigan, [...] also was delighted with the results, saying the Liberal Party in the province ''has had the biscuit.''
1982
Just when you think these high-country varmints have had the biscuit, down from behind the cactus comes one more death rattle.
1992
A Vancouver columnist says a former British Columbia premier "has had the biscuit," meaning his political career is over.
2005
And you likely know that when something's "had the biscuit," it's all used up or worn out.
People reader Elizabeth Rushton is familiar with both these sayings and their meanings. What she doesn't know, despite having looked in a couple of 'why-do-we-say-that' books, is where they come from and wondered if we could help.
The origin of "had the biscuit" was brought up on the writersblock.ca website, which offered a brief explanation. It claims the saying was first uttered during wartime, when wounded soldiers were brought to the first aid tent and laid to rest on thin, brown, hard, mattresses known as "biscuits."
If one expired in that position, they were said to have "had the biscuit."
References
- COD-2
- OED-3
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