That takes the biscuit!
This British idiom from the late nineteenth century is used to express surprise or outrage at the annoying or selfish actions of another person. It is also used in Canada and other Commonwealth countries, apparently.
I was surprised to find that it probably derives from an older American phrase from around 1840, ‘takes the cake.’ It referred to the cakewalk, a promenade dance from Southern USA. Couples would compete and the couple judged the winners would receive a cake.
I would have thought the winners would have preferred a monetary prize, but what do I know?
The derivation reminded me of the 1969 film, ‘They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?’ It made a lasting impression on me, that people could be so poor and desperate that they would enter dance marathons for the chance of winning a cash prize.
Of the two, I would say, cake. I think most Canadians would.
ReplyDeleteAh, the American influence . . . 😉😏
DeleteNever heard the phrase take the cake but have often used take the biscuit.
ReplyDeleteThe biscuit expression is the one I use occasionally.
DeleteWhen I was in elementary school there would always be a cakewalk at the fall festival (aka Halloween carnival). Mothers donated homemade cakes. Participants would move from square to square as music played. When the music stopped, the winner who was on a "cake square" won one of the cakes. I believe they got to choose the cake. I'm sure it was played different ways.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds fun - a more sedate version of 'pass the parcel' perhaps.
DeleteYour description is how I always experienced a cake walk.
DeleteCakewalks was always fun.
ReplyDeleteThey sound it.
DeleteGotta admit I really do like cake - I might even be willing to dance for it.
ReplyDeleteI like cake, but not enough to dance 😉😏
DeleteI have heard "takes the cake" but never used it myself. I'm not a good enough dance to be dancing for prizes of any sort.
ReplyDeleteNor me.
DeleteI know the phrase "takes the cake" but I didn't know it came from cakewalk.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even know what a cakewalk was!
DeleteI like both biscuits and cake, but fortunately I have never had to dance for either - or for money.
ReplyDeleteThe Great Depression was a hard time for so many. Now we talk about 'recessions.'
DeleteSomewhere the organizer said let them eat cake
ReplyDeleteHa ha - Marie Antoinette, was it??
DeleteIn the 1950s, few families could afford to buy professionally made
ReplyDeletecakes and as a result, we ate cheap biscuits in packages. So "that takes the biscuit" was never rude.. but it may well have been unexpected.
I remember when broken biscuits could be bought - they were cheaper than unbroken. Now, everything is almost hermetically sealed, so there's no chance of broken biscuits.
DeleteIt's take the cake for me. Not an expression I've heard for a very long time. It's the sort of thing my parents woulld have used. As usual you have found another interesting topic
ReplyDeleteOoer, that dates me then . . .
DeleteI've heard of That takes the cake but not the biscuit version
ReplyDeleteThe opposite is true for me. 😷
DeleteI would say “takes the cake.” If we say something has “ had the biscuit” it means that is broken, no longer functional.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting appropriation.
DeleteWhilst I am familiar in Britain with "takes the biscuit" it is not something I have used, or heard used, in a long time. I suppose gobsmacked is the modern replacement although does not have quite the same meaning.
ReplyDeleteOf the two, I prefer 'takes the biscuit' as an expression.
DeleteYou've reminded me of a pinny I was given as a child by my Sunday school teacher. I think she must have visited America - though that seems unlikely but it was definitely something special to warrant a gift for me. Anyway it said, 'You take the cake' with an image of a cake on the front.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds really sweet. What a nice person.
DeleteI like your curiosity about words and expressions, thanks for sharing of the results of your research. I think I've heard the British expression but not the American origin. Don't know the film.
ReplyDeleteI don't know whether the film would have the same impact now. There are so many unbelievable events these days.
DeleteNow I know what the sad title film is about. I never saw it.
ReplyDeleteIt was 'Takes the cake', here, but I haven't heard the expression for a long time.
It was a sad film, but I don't know how it would seem now.
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ReplyDeleteSo interesting……..perhaps these days we should say “ that takes the cookie “
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
Maybe - so many Americanisms in our speech now . . . 😏
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in elementary school we would have a cake walk in Spring and the mothers would bake cakes and the children would dance in a numbered circle and whomever landed on a number chosen at random as the music stopped would "take the cake."
ReplyDeleteThat sounds such fun. I suppose you couldn't do it now, with so many children having food and additive allergies. Sad!
DeleteIt was not just the poor. I read a fascinating piece about marathon walking. People would literally walk for hours around a track. It was an indoor track, something to do with one of the world's fairs. It was hugely popular, lots of betting. The walkers were famous in their time. Let me see if I can find it again.
ReplyDeleteFascinating!
DeleteGoogle 'pedestrianism'
ReplyDeleteI've just read the Wikipedia article. Thank you. It's amazing. I can quite see how it developed into a sport. One of my college friends was a race walker.
DeleteFrom now on, I'm going to say it the British way, just for fun.
ReplyDeleteWon't it get confused with American biscuits? I'm confused about American biscuits and gravy . . .
DeleteI never imagined that "takes the cake" was the first iteration of the phrase, and "biscuit" descended from it! I hated "They Shoot Horses." Such a depressing movie, and normally I'll watch anything with Jane Fonda in it.
ReplyDeleteIt was depressing, but then the subject matter wasn't a cause for joy.
DeleteCake walks are still a thing here at some events. It's fun! I have never won anything, though.
ReplyDeleteThey certainly sound fun. I don't think we've got anything like that in UK. (Waiting now for someone to put me right!)
DeleteI've only heard the American version used, but then again, I'm an American. And by "biscuit" you mean cookies, right? I guess I can see how a cake can morph into what we call cookies on this side of the pond. Those sweet cookies, of course, are not to be confused with cookies left when you visit a website. Isn't it interesting how we speak the same language except when we don't?
ReplyDeleteLanguage can be very confusing when we all speak it in different ways, but it makes life interesting. 😊
ReplyDeleteI've always known the phrse "that takes the cake!" but have never before heard "that takes the biscuit!"....
ReplyDelete"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" has always been one of my favorite films since I saw it when it first came out. I especially loved that it started at both ends and worked its way both forward and backward to the middle, the title, phrase, which was the last line in the film. Since you've seen it you know what I'm talking about, but people who haven't seen it are probably confused.
I con't remember much about it, except that it was so depressing.
Delete'takes the biscuit' ... a phrase that was often used in the family!!!
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Likewise.
DeleteI remember that movie and I remember that phrase. My grandfather used it and his daughter, my mother, also used it especially when I was quite a young child. It seems to me that later, possibly after my grandfather's death, it fell out of use in our family.
ReplyDeleteLanguage evolves, and not always for the better. Profanity is in the ascendant now.
DeleteWell....pretty sure you know what side of the "pond" I'm on. ;-)
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed. 😷
DeleteI've heard of "Takes the Cake" but not the biscuit...
ReplyDeleteNow I know about cakewalks.
DeleteI knew it was 'Take the Biscuit'!. For a while I thought I was going crazy as over here they say take the cake.
ReplyDeleteHow funny - not for you, though.
DeleteI grew up hearing "takes the cake" . . . but - off on a tangent here - we also used "had the biscuit", which meant something was ruined or worn out! So many sayings :)
ReplyDeleteThat's so interesting.
DeleteInteresting! never knew where the biscuit expression originated from.
ReplyDeleteSo true about ‘They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?’. I haven't seen the film but I've read the book. xxx
It was a harsh time for so many.
DeleteI never heard that expression, but i like it!! (and its history)
ReplyDeleteboth cakes and biscuits over here - interesting derivation
ReplyDelete