Are "diminutive" and "Lilliputian" nearly identical?

[todayiamadaisy]

Today I went to the supermarket for the weekly shop. They have signs up at the checkouts now saying there are limits on certain items: one pack of toilet paper, for example, two of pasta, two of flour, two of rice. The woman in front of me had eight packets of dry pasta in her basket. The checkout lady explained to her that she could only have two, because that's all that the checkout will scan. (I wondered how they were enforcing that.) The woman said she knew that, but it was all right because look: she only had two bags of each variety! That's how to get around your stupid limits. (That last sentence was not spoken, but definitely implied.)

The checkout lady looked dubious and said, all right then, pick the two you most want and I'll put them through first, and we'll see what happens with the others.

The woman looked like she was going to argue, but she pointed to the two packets of spiral pasta and they were duly scanned. The checkout lady picked up a packet of macaroni and scanned it. Nothing. No beep, no price. She tried the other macaroni, and then a packet of lasagne sheets. Nothing. The woman said, yes, all right, I can't have them, and the checkout lady picked up all six packets and put them in a basket at her feet. It was already full of packets of pasta.

Prior to all this panic buying, the supermarket had started another one of its "spend thirty dollars and get free tat" promotions. They're tarting it up as a way to get kids to eat fresh fruit and vegetables, but it's really packets of tiny plastic figurines in the shape of mushrooms and celery and so on. I usually collect the toy if offered and give it to a friend with school-age children. I always look at the figurine first, though, because there is one that I want. The answer to one of the security questions on a website I use at work is "cauliflower", so when I saw the poster of all the figurines at the supermarket entrance, I thought it would be fun to collect Chloe Cauliflower and stick it on my computer as a reminder.

Only do you think I could find Chloe Cauliflower? No. I have had so many Poppy Plums and Matty Mushrooms. Haley Honeydew, sure. Ruby Raspberry. Connor Corn, both regular and in his allegedly rare glitter form. But not a Chloe Cauliflower to be seen. Until today. Behold my new desk decoration!



I think she looks a bit worried.