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Had the biscuit

Posted by David FG on June 23, 2009 at 17:38

In Reply to: Had the biscuit posted by RRC on June 23, 2009 at 14:40:

: : : : : Wondering if anyone has heard the explanation re Phrase 'had the biscuit', that it derives from WW1 trench warfare in France. When a soldier was mortally wounded the Chaplain administered 'last rites' which included the Eucharist---wafer of bread---which in soldiery slang became 'the biscuit'. Ergo, if so-and-so 'had the biscuit' he had died. It bcame applicable to almost anything that was 'worn out', 'finished.

: : : : I can't speak for any other Christian denomination (but I strongly suspect they are similar) but in the Catholic Church the Sacrament of Extreme Unction (the 'last rites') does not involve taking the consecrated Host, but in anointing with oil.

: : : : It might be rather difficult trying to get someone on the point of death to swallow a 'biscuit' - or indeed, anything else.

: : : : DFG

: : : In the Catholic Church, "Last Rites" consists of 3 parts depending on what the person is capable of - Penance (confession), Anointing of the Sick (the official name for Extreme Unction since Vatican II), and a special Eucharist called a Viaticum (provisions for a journey) which would include wine and wafer if the person is capable of ingesting food. (It's only a wafer-thin wafer after all).
: : : Most Protestant denominations outside of Anglican/Episcopalian do not have such official "about to die" rites at all.

: : Indeed so, but I really can't see many Chaplains in the trenches of World War One tending to the spiritual needs of the dying going through that lot too often as the bullets and shells whizzed around their ears...

: : DFG

: The phrase was probably originated more from mis-understanding by non-Catholics.
: Aside from that, WWI saw some improvements in medical care which led to more seriously injured people surviving long enough to not die immediately on the battlefield, and then to actually survive the recovery process where in previous wars you would likely have died from whatever infection was rampant in the hospital. The trench warfare itself led to a lot more people being shot in the face and neck which led to major advances in plastic surgery. I imagine many would have taken whatever comfort they could before undergoing experimental surgery.

I am not sure that someone about to undergo experimental surgery after being shot in the face or neck would be taking even so much as a Communion Wafer (and I think - though I am going out on a limb here - that the 'wafer' is a fairly new invention. Until quite recently, I believe it was much more like ordinary bread).

Anyway, to get back to the original post; I am not familiar with the phrase 'had the biscuit'. I have never come across it. I do know 'that takes the biscuit' which is not, presumably, the same thing.

DFG

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