- monkey, cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass*
- Very cold,
A concise dictionary of English slang (2nd edition) . Brian Phythian. 2015.
monkey, cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass*
Look at other dictionaries:
cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey — ► cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey informal extremely cold. [ORIGIN: from a type of brass rack or ‘monkey’ in which cannonballs were stored and which contracted in very cold weather, ejecting the balls.] Main Entry: ↑brass … English terms dictionary
be cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey — British, very informal! brass monkey weather extremely cold weather. We were in Moscow, and it was cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey … New idioms dictionary
cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey — Meaning Very cold weather conditions. Origin Uncertain origin. Some references say that the brass triangles that supported stacks of iron cannonballs on sailing ships were called monkeys and that in cold weather, as brass contracts more than iron … Meaning and origin of phrases
brass — ► NOUN 1) a yellow alloy of copper and zinc. 2) (also horse brass) a flat brass ornament for the harness of a draught horse. 3) Brit. a memorial consisting of a flat piece of inscribed brass in the wall or floor of a church. 4) brass wind… … English terms dictionary
brass monkey Brit. — brass monkey Brit. informal used to indicate extremely cold weather: cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. [from a type of brass rack or ‘monkey’ in which cannonballs were stored and which contracted in very cold weather, ejecting… … English new terms dictionary
brass monkeys — • cold weather, as in it s brass monkeys out there . Comes from the saying cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey . As far as I can see the debate on the origins of this one are still ongoing. Many sources say it comes from a old… … Londonisms dictionary
brass monkey — If it s brass monkey weather, or cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey, it is extremely cold … The small dictionary of idiomes
Brass Monkeys — is an Australian sitcom that screened in 1984 on the Seven Network. The series was produced by Gary Reilly and Tony Sattler, who are known for comedy series Kingswood Country and Hey Dad!. The title comes from the colloquial expression cold… … Wikipedia
brass — noun 1》 a yellow alloy of copper and zinc. ↘(also horse brass) Brit. a flat brass ornament for the harness of a draught horse. ↘a memorial consisting of a flat piece of inscribed brass set into the wall or floor of a church. ↘a brass… … English new terms dictionary
brass-monkeys — adj British extremely cold. A shortening of brass monkey time or brass monkey weather , this phrase refers to the widely known vulgar saying cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey! . A rather far fetched explana tion of the… … Contemporary slang
