cinema - What does the idiom "That's the way it crumbles, cookie-wise" mean?


I just watched the movie The apartment (by Billy Wilder, 1960) and hear the main character say:



That's the way it crumbles, cookie-wise



I kind of understand it as "that's life", as someone would say while sighing. But I wonder: what is the origin of it? Am I right about its meaning?



Answer



According to A Dictionary of Catch Phrases, American and British...by Eric Patridge,


That's the way it crumbles, cookie-wise meaning:



  • that's how (the situation) has turned out, and there is nothing you can do about it




  • has been a frequent catch phrase from the 50's in the US and in the UK from the mid 60's.



An early usage example is from the "Michigan Courthouse Review" 1951:




  • Just shrug your shoulders and say, "Well, that's the way the ball bounces" or, " That's the way the cookie crumbles" or some similar parrot-like phrase. Sit back. Let the world pass by. If you don't like what you see, imitate the ostrich and stick ...



Ngram shows usage of the depression from the mid 50's.


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