take the biscuit

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

take the biscuit (third-person singular simple present takes the biscuit, present participle taking the biscuit, simple past took the biscuit, past participle taken the biscuit)

1. (idiomatic, Britain) To be particularly bad, objectionable, or egregious.

   I've seen bad grammar, but this takes the biscuit.

2. (idiomatic, Canada) To be of no further use; to be near death. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Synonyms

• (to be particularly egregious): take the cake (US):
• (to be of no further use): have the biscuit (Canada):

References

• http://www.worldwidewords.org Issue 607, 4 October, 2008