Have you seen the expression 'that's the way the cookie crumbles' and would like to know more about the common use and context of the saying? It's a common figurative saying in the English language. This post unpacks its meaning, origin, and use.
Meaning
The saying 'that's the way the cookie crumbles' is a type of figurative English saying.
'That's the way the cookie crumbles' is one of the most common ways for someone to say that's just the way things happen, or that things followed an expected path (and that nothing else can be done about it).
The phrase is often said like a catchphrase, though it can be used as a direct reference to something or alternatively said in response to something that another speaker has put to the conversation.
The phrase 'that's the way the cookie crumbles' implies that the situation is finished, and that there is nothing more to be done about it.
Context for the phrase is usually given by the speaker, or implied by the rest of the conversation.
The phrase is rarely used in the plural form, though it can still render a phrase that is theoretically correct.
Usually, the phrase is said with sarcastic or joking implications, but it can also be said with a hint of resignation from the speaker.
'Such is life' and 'c'est la vie' are two English phrases that are similar in meaning.
Example Usage
“I didn't know I was going to pay the bill for three chicken dinners at the restaurant while everyone else left, but that's the way the cookie crumbles I guess.”
“I trusted them with my pizza order just like I would have trusted them with my life. When I went home and looked inside the box, I saw that they had put pineapple in it: that's the way the cookie crumbles, I wasn't driving all the way back there for this.”
“They rear-ended us and then drove away like nothing had happened. Since they were driving a Hummer, their car was fine and ours wasn't. That's the way the cooking crumbles someetimes.”
“I used the wrong recipe for the cookies, and now we ended up with savory ones. That's literally the way the cookie crumbles, and nobody should try them. They're awful.”
Origin
According to online etymology resources, the first use and origin of the phrase 'that's the way the cookie crumbles' is unknown – or has not yet been established.
The phrase is likely to have come into popular use by the 1950s, although the obscurity of its true first appearance makes it likely that the saying could have come into being much earlier than this.
Similar phrases, like 'such is life', originated at the start of the 1900s and give a possible origin for phrases that could have evolved to 'how the cookie crumbles'.
From what is known about the start of the phrase, it definitely came to be in Engilsh and might be difficult to translate as a direct phrase into other languages for this reason.
Phrases Similar to That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles
- C'est la vie
Phrases Opposite to That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles
- N/a
What is the Correct Saying?
- That's the way the cookie crumbles
Ways People May Say That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles Incorrectly
There are several ways in which someone can use the phrase 'that's the way the cookie crumbles' in the wrong way, or misunderstand the meaning of the saying.
A speaker would not typically use the phrase as 'that's the way the cookies crumble'.
The phrase is typically used to refer to situations that the speaker (or secondary participant) can do nothing to change.
Acceptable Ways to PhraseThat's the Way the Cookie Crumbles
There are several ways in which someone can use the phrase 'that's the way the cookie crumbles' in the correct way.