idioms - Why is "taking a biscuit" a bad thing in the UK?


So, I'm reading up on a list of English Idioms and I see two that bear a striking similarity.



  • "Take the biscuit (UK): To be particularly bad, objectionable, or egregious.

  • "Take the cake (US)": To be especially good or outstanding.


Now I can understand why cake is "good" and "outstanding". In the USA we're rational, and that makes sense to me. However, why are biscuits "bad", "objectionable" or "egregious"? It would seem to me that if the country thought so poorly of biscuits they'd naturally go away. Personally, I like biscuits too; and, I especially like biscuits with gravy.


Why do people in the UK hate biscuits, and how did the saying "take the biscuit" come to be?


You can hear an example of "taking the biscuit" thanks to Thunderf00t



Answer



I'm afraid I may know where the negative meaning comes from. People of weak stomach are recommended not to read...


The name probably comes from adolescent boys' game of "limp biscuit" (which is, by the way, the origin of the name of the famous band, Limp Bizkit). The gist of the game is to gather forming a circle and masturbate , ejaculating on a biscuit placed in the middle (...and it softens from moisture in semen in the process, thus "limp"), and then the person that fails to or is last to ejaculate must eat that biscuit.


Expectably, "taking the biscuit" is not a thing to be proud of.


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