The Cookie Idioms: Smart Cookie, Tough Cookie

I want to say a big thank you to food blogger Jennifer Walker, who wrote today’s post on cookie idioms.  Jennifer shares her musings on food, recipes, and good eating at her blog My Morning Chocolate.  And as a huge peanut butter fan, I can’t wait to try her Flourless Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies.  I’m hungry already, how about you?

By Jennifer Walker 

Cookies are my favorite dessert, snack, and cooking activity.  If I don’t have them in the house, I don’t feel right.  Still, I have yet to call anyone a cookie – other than my grandmother’s friend whose name is Ms. Cookie – even though there are at least two options to do so.  

The word “cookie” comes from the Dutch word “koekje,” which means “little cake,” according to The New Food Lover’s Companion.  The first cookie-like “cakes” were thought to have originated in 7^th century Persia, one of the earliest countries where sugar was cultivated.    

Later, cookie became a slang word, referring to a person or an alluring young woman, according to Dictionary.com.  (Though “cookie” is used to refer to both women and men today.)  This slang word has been used since 1920, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary in phrases like “smart cookie” and “tough cookie.” 
    
Smart Cookie

The Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms says that a smart cookie is “someone who is clever and good at dealing with difficult situations.”  It’s a phrase that was first used in 1948, though I couldn’t find information on how it was used.  But a respondent on Yahoo Answers has an interesting theory:  the term “cookie” may have referred to women as far back as the 1700s, and “smart cookie” may have been a comment on women’s intelligence.    

Tough Cookie

Remember Pat Benatar’s song “Hit Me with Your Best Shot”?  When she sang about a “tough cookie,” she was talking about “someone who is very determined to do what they want and who usually succeeds even in difficult situations,” according to, once again, the Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms.

I did some Google research on these phrases and have determined that these phrases are often used in business names, slogans, and even book titles, but I can’t think of a time when I’ve heard someone use “smart cookie” or “tough cookie” in everyday speech.  

But maybe I’m just not paying enough attention.  Do you ever call someone a “smart cookie” or “tough cookie” (or hear anyone else use these phrases)?  

(Photo courtesy of Jennifer Walker)