Definition

1. Noun:
   • A very hard, unsalted biscuit or bread: A type of durable, dry food product, specifically designed to resist spoilage.
   • A former ship's staple: Historically, this was a primary food item stored and consumed on long sea voyages.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The sailors survived on a diet of salted meat and sea biscuit.
  • The museum displayed a genuine 18th-century sea biscuit, hard as a rock.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Context: The term is primarily used in historical or nautical contexts to describe the hardtack consumed before modern food preservation.
  • In accounts of the Age of Sail, the weevil-infested sea biscuit was a common sailor's lament.

Variants and Related Words

• Hardtack (n): A direct synonym for sea biscuit.
  • Hardtack and sea biscuit refer to the same type of ship's bread.
• Ship's biscuit (n): Another equivalent term.
  • The recipe for ship's biscuit required only flour and water.

Synonyms

• Hardtack
• Ship's biscuit
• Pilot bread

Related Phrases

• To be on biscuit and water: A historical phrase implying a punishment diet or meager rations.
  • The mutinous crew was placed on biscuit and water.

Noun

1. very hard unsalted biscuit or bread; a former ship's staple