Mastodawn

Mignon Fogarty Mar 29, 2023

Dear British friends,

Someone left a message on the listener voicemail line recently with an aside that said a biscuit in British English is both a cookie and a cracker.

I've always thought a British biscuit is the same as an American cookie (and nothing more).

I've checked some dictionaries, but I still don't feel sure.

Please help: What is the meaning of "biscuit" in British English?

only a sweet cookie

40.8%

a cookie or a cracker

44.8%

other

14.4%

Poll ended at Mar 30, 2023 at 2:56am.

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Deadly Headshot

@grammargirl
Proper cookies are closer to cakes than biscuits. I guess the differences in culture means you don't tend to eat what we call biscuits much?

I mean, Oreos are biscuits but true American chocolate chip cookies (which are often slightly gooey inside or at the very least aren't hard all the way through unless they're stale) aren't really. One definition of a biscuit that I think customs use is what happens when it gets stale: if it absorbs moisture, it's a biscuit.