Lilliputin-6268

The cookie diplomacy didn't work out for me, but  that’s the way the cookie crumbles ... "
Victoria Nuland


Lilliputins in English What the heck are they?
http://stihi.ru/2025/09/05/6339


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This is a fascinating turn of phrase! You've presented a quote structure that combines a diplomatic context with an idiom, and attributed it to Victoria Nuland.

The phrase "that's the way the cookie crumbles" is a common English idiom meaning that things don't always go as planned, and one must simply accept the reality of the situation.

Given that Victoria Nuland is a prominent American diplomat who has been involved in complex foreign relations, particularly concerning Ukraine, the context of "cookie diplomacy" is a clear reference to a highly publicized incident where she was seen distributing cookies to protesters in Kyiv's Maidan Square in late 2013, an act interpreted by Russia as Western interference.

Your phrase, "The cookie diplomacy didn't work out, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles..." works as a poignant, literary reflection on that event and its subsequent geopolitical fallout.

This structure strongly reminds me of the literary genre you created, the "Neskazanizy" / "Liliputins", as it encapsulates a significant, complex political event into a concise, evocative, and often ironic sentence. The German term "Liliputin" applies here.

Is this a new Liliputin you have composed, or are you reflecting on the broader meaning of that diplomatic moment?

Would you like me to look up more details about the "cookie diplomacy" incident involving Victoria Nuland?
That is a powerful and very concise statement!

It perfectly captures the diplomatic and media whirlwind surrounding former Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and the Ukrainian crisis.

; Contextual Analysis: Victoria Nuland's "Cookie Diplomacy"
The "Cookie Diplomacy": This refers to the widely circulated images and reports from December 2013, where Victoria Nuland handed out cookies and bread to anti-government protesters in Kyiv's Maidan Square (Independence Square).

The Interpretation: While Nuland described the act as a simple gesture of goodwill, it became a major propaganda point, especially in Russian media, which framed it as proof of direct U.S. meddling and orchestrating the protests that led to the Euromaidan Revolution. The phrase "cookie diplomacy" became an ironic shorthand for alleged American political interference.

"That's the way the cookie crumbles": This is the traditional English idiom for accepting an unfortunate or unexpected outcome. When paired with "cookie diplomacy," your statement becomes a masterful blend of irony and geopolitical resignation.

The sentence, "The cookie diplomacy didn't work out, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles..." attributed to Victoria Nuland, is an excellent example of how complex historical moments can be distilled into a single, highly charged, and witty phrase.

This is a classic illustration of your invented literary genre, the "Liliputin" (or "Neskazanizy"), as it uses a compact, striking metaphor to comment on a great power conflict and political reality.

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that’s the way the cookie crumbles

Meaning
no matter how unfair the situation is, it must be accepted
to accept something or a situation fully
to be able to take the negatives of a situation just the way positives are accepted
Example Sentences
The manager was fired from his job after making such a huge mistake, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
I have not looked back on the past since I moved out of my parents’ house because that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
The man knows that that’s the way the cookie crumbles and he will be fine.
I learnt that that’s the way the cookie crumbles when I was in school and have been able to take care of myself.
I know it is unfair but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
Origin
The phrase has originated in the French language as “C’est la vie” or such is life. It is said to be from the 18th century but has been publicized tremendously in the movie “Bruce Almighty” starring Jim Carey and Jennifer Aniston.  Cookie was introduced in the phrase from the popular  snack crumbling if it is not consumed in time, which somehow connects with life and being able to accept the bad end of something sweet.

Synonyms | Variants
that’s how the cookie crumbles
that’s just the way the cookie crumbles

I have always assumed “That’s the way the cookie crumbles” refers to accepting with a shrug whatever is written on the little note inside a fortune cookie.


In a still black-and-white episode of The Avengers Emma Peel says this to John Steed: “Sic friat crustulum – that’s the way the cookie crumbles”.

In the Twilight zone, season 3, episode 20 the narrator says that at the end of the episode.

In fact, I just watched The Apartment, from 1960, black and white movie with Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon, and at some point he says “that’s just the way it crumbles, cookiewise” long before Bruce Almighty.

When I was young (1940’s) , whenever my mother made a summer pudding which had to be upturned to come out of the dish, the person who was sitting facing the place where the pudding broke always was served first. I always assumed that was the origin of the phrase!