Said of the weather when it is very cold.
Etymology:
- From the phrase cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. According to the U.S. Naval Historical Center, which cites the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, 'the first recorded use of the term "brass monkey" appears to dates to 1857 when it was used in an apparently vulgar context by C.A. Abbey in his book Before the Mast, where on page 108 it says "It would freeze the tail off a brass monkey."' A number of false etymologies have been suggested. For more information, see brass monkey on Wikipedia.
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Submitted on September 01, 2009
Additional definitions for 'brass monkey':
| brass monkey | A cocktail of vodka, rum and orange juice, sometimes with the addition of galliano. |
| brass monkey | A kind of inexpensive liqueur. |
| brass monkey | An Australian beer. |
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"brass monkey." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Dec. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/brass-monkey_2539>.
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