40 Idioms for Cold , Weather & Emotions

Idioms are the rich, textured fabric of a language, giving us unique ways to express ideas that simple words cannot fully capture. They are phrases where the meaning isn’t literal but metaphorical, offering a shortcut to a deeper, shared understanding. When we talk about the cold, we might be describing the weather outside or a feeling inside. Idioms provide a powerful way to articulate both.

A funny saying about cold weather like “it’s cold enough to freeze the tail off a brass monkey” paints a more vivid picture than just “it’s very cold.” Similarly, describing a person as “cold-hearted” instantly conveys a complex emotional state. Exploring these cold expressions and sayings helps us appreciate the creative power of language and brings clarity to our experiences.

Cold situations literal or emotional often lead to tension or discomfort. If you’re exploring how emotions mix with the chill, check out our idioms for anxiety that pair well with icy feelings.

Table of Contents

Idioms for Cold

Here is a list of 40 popular idioms related to cold weather, cold emotions, and the word “cold” itself.

1. Get cold feet

Meaning: To suddenly become too frightened or nervous to do something you had planned to do.
Use in a sentence: He was going to ask for a raise, but he got cold feet at the last minute.
Other ways to say it: To lose one’s nerve, to have second thoughts, to chicken out.

2. Give someone the cold shoulder

Meaning: To intentionally ignore someone or treat them in an unfriendly way.
Use in a sentence: After their argument, she gave him the cold shoulder for the rest of the day.
Other ways to say it: To snub someone, to ignore, to be unfriendly toward.

3. In cold blood

Meaning: To do something cruel or violent without any emotion.
Use in a sentence: The villain in the movie committed the crime in cold blood.
Other ways to say it: Mercilessly, ruthlessly, without pity.

4. Cold-hearted

Meaning: To be emotionally distant, unkind, or unfeeling.
Use in a sentence: Only a cold-hearted person would not feel sympathy for the refugees.
Other ways to say it: Uncaring, cruel, lacking empathy.

5. Pour cold water on

Meaning: To be negative or discouraging about someone’s idea or plan.
Use in a sentence: I was excited about my business idea, but my bank manager poured cold water on it.
Other ways to say it: To discourage, to be dismissive of, to criticize.

6. A cold day in July (or Hell)

Meaning: Something that will never happen.
Use in a sentence: I’ll apologize to him when it’s a cold day in July.
Other ways to say it: Never, when pigs fly, not in a million years.

7. My blood ran cold

Meaning: To suddenly feel very frightened.
Use in a sentence: My blood ran cold when I heard the strange noise downstairs.
Other ways to say it: I was terrified, it sent shivers down my spine.

8. Break out in a cold sweat

Meaning: To become frightened, nervous, or anxious and begin to sweat, even though you are cold.
Use in a sentence: He broke out in a cold sweat just before his big presentation.
Other ways to say it: To be very nervous, to be terrified.

9. Leave someone out in the cold

Meaning: To exclude someone from a group or activity.
Use in a sentence: All his friends were invited to the party, but he was left out in the cold.
Other ways to say it: To exclude, to ignore, to ostracize.

10. As cold as ice

Meaning: To be very cold emotionally; unfriendly and showing no emotion.
Use in a sentence: Her stare was as cold as ice.
Other ways to say it: Emotionless, unfriendly, aloof.

11. Blow hot and cold

Meaning: To change your opinion or mood about something frequently.
Use in a sentence: I’m not sure if she likes me; she tends to blow hot and cold.
Other ways to say it: To be inconsistent, to be indecisive, to vacillate.

12. A cold fish

Meaning: A person who is unemotional, aloof, and unfriendly.
Use in a sentence: It’s hard to know what she’s thinking; she’s a bit of a cold fish.
Other ways to say it: An unemotional person, someone who is hard to get to know.

13. Cold, hard cash

Meaning: Physical money (banknotes and coins), as opposed to credit or electronic payment.
Use in a sentence: They wouldn’t accept a check; they wanted cold, hard cash.
Other ways to say it: Physical money, cash on the barrelhead.

14. Stop someone cold

Meaning: To make someone suddenly stop what they are doing by surprising or frightening them.
Use in a sentence: The sight of the security guard stopped the thief cold.
Other ways to say it: To stop someone in their tracks, to halt suddenly.

15. In the dead of winter

Meaning: In the middle of winter, during the coldest part.
Use in a sentence: They decided to go camping in the dead of winter, which was a very cold experience.
Other ways to say it: In the middle of winter, at the coldest time of year.

16. A cold snap

Meaning: A sudden, short period of very cold weather.
Use in a sentence: We had a surprising cold snap in April, with frost on the ground.
Other ways to say it: A sudden cold spell, a brief period of cold.

17. There’s a nip in the air

Meaning: It is starting to get cold.
Use in a sentence: You can tell autumn is here; there’s a real nip in the air this morning.
Other ways to say it: It’s getting chilly, it feels crisp outside.

18. Cold comfort

Meaning: Poor or inadequate consolation for a loss or disappointment.
Use in a sentence: The fact that he apologized was cold comfort after he had ruined her party.
Other ways to say it: Little consolation, small comfort.

19. On thin ice

Meaning: In a risky or precarious situation where one is likely to get into trouble.
Use in a sentence: After being late three times this week, he’s on thin ice with his boss.
Other ways to say it: In a risky position, in trouble.

20. Snowball effect

Meaning: A situation in which something small starts to grow in importance or size at an ever-increasing rate.
Use in a sentence: The initial media story created a snowball effect, and soon it was international news.
Other ways to say it: An escalating situation, a chain reaction.

21. Snowed in

Meaning: To be trapped somewhere because of heavy snowfall.
Use in a sentence: We were snowed in at the cabin for three days.
Other ways to say it: Trapped by snow, unable to leave due to snow.

22. A cold front

Meaning: The boundary of an advancing mass of cold air. (Used literally in a sentence).
Use in a sentence: The weather forecast says a cold front is moving in this evening, so expect temperatures to drop.
Other ways to say it: A mass of cold air, a change to colder weather.

23. Revenge is a dish best served cold

Meaning: Vengeance is more satisfying if you wait and deliver it when it’s unexpected.
Use in a sentence: He didn’t react immediately; he believed that revenge is a dish best served cold.
Other ways to say it: Vengeance is best when delayed.

24. Bundle up

Meaning: To wear enough clothing to stay warm in cold weather.
Use in a sentence: You’ll need to bundle up before you go outside; it’s freezing!
Other ways to say it: To wrap up warm, to wear warm clothes.

25. Cold enough to freeze the tail off a brass monkey

Meaning: (Humorous) Extremely cold.
Use in a sentence: I’m not going out today; it’s cold enough to freeze the tail off a brass monkey.
Other ways to say it: Bitterly cold, freezing, icy.

26. A blanket of snow

Meaning: A thick, continuous layer of snow covering the ground.
Use in a sentence: We woke up to find a beautiful blanket of snow covering the entire landscape.
Other ways to say it: A covering of snow, a layer of snow.

27. Jack Frost nipping at your nose

Meaning: A playful way to describe the feeling of the cold on your face.
Use in a sentence: It’s that time of year when you can feel Jack Frost nipping at your nose.
Other ways to say it: It’s frosty, the cold is biting.

28. A cold case

Meaning: A criminal investigation that has not been solved and is no longer being actively investigated.
Use in a sentence: The detective specialized in solving cold cases from decades ago.
Other ways to say it: An unsolved crime, an inactive investigation.

29. Stone-cold sober

Meaning: To be completely sober; not under the influence of alcohol at all.
Use in a sentence: He swore he was stone-cold sober when the accident happened.
Other ways to say it: Completely sober, not drunk at all.

30. Come in from the cold

Meaning: To leave a state of isolation or secrecy, especially in espionage.
Use in a sentence: After years as a spy, he finally decided to come in from the cold.
Other ways to say it: To end a period of isolation, to rejoin society.

31. A snow job

Meaning: An effort to deceive, persuade, or charm someone with insincere talk.
Use in a sentence: The salesman gave me a real snow job about the car’s features, but I didn’t believe him.
Other ways to say it: Deception, flattery, a con.

32. Pure as the driven snow

Meaning: To be morally pure, innocent, or chaste.
Use in a sentence: She has a reputation for being pure as the driven snow.
Other ways to say it: Innocent, virtuous, morally upright.

33. A cold read

Meaning: Reading a script or piece of text aloud without having seen it before.
Use in a sentence: The actor was amazing; he gave a perfect cold read at the audition.
Other ways to say it: An unrehearsed reading, sight-reading.

34. Freeze someone out

Meaning: To make someone feel unwelcome by being unfriendly and ignoring them.
Use in a sentence: The rest of the team started to freeze him out after he made the mistake.
Other ways to say it: To exclude, to ostracize, to give the cold shoulder.

35. Hell freezes over

Meaning: A way of saying that something will never happen.
Use in a sentence: He’ll clean his room when hell freezes over.
Other ways to say it: Never, not a chance.

36. Put something on ice

Meaning: To postpone or delay a project or plan.
Use in a sentence: We had to put the expansion plans on ice until we get more funding.
Other ways to say it: To postpone, to delay, to shelve.

37. Break the ice

Meaning: To say or do something to relieve tension and get a conversation started in a social situation.
Use in a sentence: He told a funny joke to break the ice at the start of the meeting.
Other ways to say it: To initiate conversation, to make people feel comfortable.

38. Tip of the iceberg

Meaning: Only a small, visible part of a much larger problem or situation.
Use in a sentence: The initial complaints were just the tip of the iceberg; the company had major issues.
Other ways to say it: The small, visible part of a larger problem.

39. Walk on eggshells

Meaning: To be very careful what you say or do around someone because they are easily upset. (Often related to a “cold” person).
Use in a sentence: Whenever my aunt visits, we all have to walk on eggshells.
Other ways to say it: To be very cautious, to tread carefully.

40. A snowball’s chance in hell

Meaning: No chance at all.
Use in a sentence: With his lack of experience, he has a snowball’s chance in hell of getting that job.
Other ways to say it: No chance whatsoever, impossible.

Fill-in-the-Blank Exercise

Complete the following sentences with the correct “cold” idiom from the list above.

I was going to perform my song, but I got ______________________ at the last second.
She didn’t want to talk to me; she just gave me the ______________________.
The politician’s promises were just ______________________ to his supporters.
You’ll need to ______________________ if you’re going out; there’s a real nip in the air.
I think he’ll apologize when ______________________.
The argument started small, but it had a ______________________ and soon everyone was yelling.
The news of the accident made my ______________________.
He’s been late every day this week, so he’s definitely ______________________ with the manager.
These few errors are just the ______________________; the whole report is a mess.
The company had to ______________________ their new project due to budget cuts.
He’s not very emotional; some people think he’s a bit of a ______________________.
I tried to share my great idea, but my boss just ______________________ on it.
A good host knows how to ______________________ and make guests feel welcome.
The police reopened the ______________________ from 1985.
He said he would never sell his classic car, not for all the ______________________ in the world.

Answer Key

cold feet
cold shoulder
a snow job
bundle up
hell freezes over
snowball effect
blood run cold
on thin ice
tip of the iceberg
put on ice
cold fish
poured cold water
break the ice
cold case
cold, hard cash

Conclusion

Mastering the idioms of a language allows us to communicate with more color, precision, and heart. The many sayings about “cold” show how we use a physical sensation to describe a wide range of complex human emotions and situations from fear and rejection to humor and determination.

Practicing these phrases will not only make your writing and speaking more vivid but will also sharpen your emotional intelligence. It gives you a more nuanced vocabulary to understand the feelings of others and to express your own with greater impact. In essence, learning idioms helps you appreciate the beautiful, intricate ways we make sense of the world.