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You are here: Home / Language / How Did the Expression “Had the Biscuit” Originate When Someone is Fired and What Does it Mean?

How Did the Expression “Had the Biscuit” Originate When Someone is Fired and What Does it Mean?

June 11, 2020 by Karen Hill

If someone has “had the biscuit,” they’re definitely done, regardless of the circumstances.

The expression has its origins in a Protestant allusion to the Roman Catholic sacrament of Extreme Unction.

Biscuit is a contemptuous reference to the host, the sacramental wafer used by Catholics during the issuing of the last rites to a dying person.

If he’s “had the biscuit,” it’s all over.

And that’s why we say that someone who’s finished or fired has “had the biscuit”.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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