brass monkeys

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 naval device for holding cannon balls (called a 'brass monkey'), others discount this.

Londonisms dictionary. 2014.

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  • brass monkeys — UK US noun [uncountable] british very informal very cold weather Thesaurus: cold weather and periods of cold weathersynonym Variant: brass monkey weather * * * ˌbrass ˈmonkeys | ˌbrass ˈmonkey weather …   Useful english dictionary

  • 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 monkeys — UK / US or brass monkey weather UK / US noun [uncountable] British very informal very cold weather …   English dictionary

  • brass monkeys — Adj. Of the weather or air temperature, very cold. E.g. Wear a hat and scarf, it s brass monkeys out there. See brass monkey weather …   English slang and colloquialisms

  • brass monkeys — adjective very cold Blimey, its brass monkeys out there today …   Wiktionary

  • 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

  • brass monkey weather — variant UK US Main entry: brass monkeys * * * ˌbrass ˈmonkeys | ˌbrass ˈmonkey weather idiom (BrE, slang) i …   Useful english dictionary

  • brass — [bra:s US bræs] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(metal)¦ 2¦(music)¦ 3¦(decorations)¦ 4 get down to brass tacks 5¦(people with top jobs)¦ 6 it s brass monkeys/brass monkey weather 7¦(money)¦ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [: Old English; Origin: brAs] 1.) ¦(METAL)¦ …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Brass monkey — is the name of various people and things. In several cases, the people and things were named after, or as an allusion to, the colloquial expression.*Brass monkey (colloquial expression), meaning something solid and inert that can only be affected …   Wikipedia

  • brass monkey weather — brass monkeys UK / US or brass monkey weather UK / US noun [uncountable] British very informal very cold weather …   English dictionary

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