Webcold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. Frigid, extremely cold. This term, already known by 1835, comes from naval warfare, in the days when cannonballs were stacked … WebMay 18, 2024 · Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. This actually has nothing to do with an ape’s anatomy, metal or otherwise. Various sources disagree about the origins of this phrase, but a likely explanation is that cannonballs stacked on an ordnance rack called a “brass monkey” would contract in cold temperatures and roll off. …

cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey - TheFreeDictionary.…

"Cold enough to freeze the balls off (or on) a brass monkey" is a colloquial expression used by some English speakers to describe extremely cold weather. The reference to the testes (as the term balls is commonly understood to mean) of the brass monkey appears to be a 20th-century variant on the expression, prefigured by a range of references to other body parts, especially the nose and tail. WebAlmost everyone has heard the saying, “It’s cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey” …but do you know the origin of that old saying? Well, according to folklore, back in the days of the tall ships, many of those … toweling car

brass monkey - Wiktionary

WebJan 9, 2001 · In short, this origin for the phrase "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" is nonsense because: Not even the venerable Oxford English Dictionary, … WebFeb 25, 2011 · You will freeze your balls off.” When I was growing up in upstate Pennsylvania, my father used to declare this would be the fate of a brass monkey exposed to the kind of cold we had in the ... WebAccording to the story, in very cold weather these brass frames would contract (in some versions the cannonballs also contract) causing the cannonballs to fall off the brass … toweling crossword clue