Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey idioms. Thus, it was quite literally, cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. What does cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey expression mean. Beastie boys were an american hiphop trio from new york city, united states. Listen to both songs on whosampled, the ultimate database of sampled music, cover songs and remixes. In 2008 our enclosed index finger hole release was designed to consistently create exactly the same optimized self centering consistent pressure point on your index finger. Hey dennisb, i just saw a neutered brass monkey wearing an o.
Nov 26, 2008 the term to freeze the balls off a brass monkey is exactly that. The solution was a metal plate called a monkey with 16 round indentations. The recorded legacy of the two albums collected on this compact disc remind us just what an enormous loss to the british folk world that was. The balls part of the expression is an irrelevant later addition the brass monkey was. Brass was used because the cannonballs wouldnt rust to the brass monkey, but would rust to an iron one. Add be cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. This is generally perceived as a humorous reference to some unfortunate brass monkey who loses his testicles if the weather is too cold. Brass monkey disambiguation brass monkey brass band. Whats the origin of the phrase cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass. The only tiki bar in copenhagen brass monkey is all about good cocktails, good music, and good vibes. In vitro studies were conducted on 426 porcine corneas, followed by preliminary.
A the full expansion of the phrase is cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey and is common throughout the englishspeaking world, though much better known now in australia and new zealand than elsewhere. Made of gleaming solid brass, this monkey stands six inches tall and comes with the necessary anatomically correct parts to test the winter weather. Im assuming you mean cold weather, not emotional coldness. A surgical cryoprobe for targeted transcorneal freezing. Brass monkey finally dissolved in 1987, unable to juggle the demands of each musicians schedule and acquire enough gigs to support the band. Found on your site the common story about this expression the one about the stacks of cannonballs on the ships deck and its debunking. He said it was 31 degrees in oklahoma yesterday and he was headed to brownsville to look for pancho. What are some good phrases for describing coldness. Freezing the balls off the brass monkey, a navy phrase. The brass monkey mike d says they were rapping about is actually a. Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. Was cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey a naval. Jun, 2014 the real brass monkey and 6 other drinks made famous by hits by tim donnelly. However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it.
Add be cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey to one of your lists below. Early references to brass monkeys in the 19th century have no references to balls at all, but instead variously say that it is cold enough to freeze the tail, nose, ears and whiskers off a brass monkey. Download our english dictionary apps available for both ios and android. Qed cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey is very very cold indeed and an apt nautical expression. Translations in context of brass monkey in englishfrench from reverso context. It was made of brass and the cannon balls were not, so when it got cold enough, the two metals would contract by different amounts and the cannon balls would no longer fit properly in the holder and thus fall off.
A freezing console employing nitrous oxide as a cryogen was used to cool a series of different cryoprobe tip designs made of silver for high thermal conductivity. Check out brass monkey by beastie boys on amazon music. The balls part of the expression is an irrelevant later addition the brass monkey was probably a naval cannon. Likewise, it was sometimes hot enough to scald the throat or. The phrase cold enough to freeze the balls off or on a brass monkey is a colloquial expression used by some english speakers. Download a free grammar checker download grammarlys app to help with eliminating grammar errors and finding the right words. As it got cold on the gun decks, the indentations in the brass monkey would get smaller than the iron cannonballs they were holding. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannon balls would come right off the monkey. An early recorded mentioning of the freezing a brass monkey dates from 1857, appearing in c. Definition of cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey in the idioms dictionary. Freeze the balls off a brass monkey posted by li yar on september 02, 2004. Also compatible with brass monkey 240v power adaptor sold separately for use when mains power is available.
A brass monkey was in fact a rack used on gun ships during the napoleonic wars to store cannon balls. A monkey is a rack made of cast brass or light bronze used to contain a stack of cannon balls, a bit like a modern set triangle used in racking up the eight balls on a pool table, but with layers going up to form a pyramid. Meaning of be cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey in english. When the temperature dropped to around freezing the brass would contract thus causing the cannon balls to fall onto the gun deck. The lineup consisted of kirsten mccarthy on bass, monique luzuriaga on guitar and vocals, and bradle ramsay on drums. From the phrase cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. Brass monkey was formed in mid 1999, originally experimenting with sounds reminicant of early beastie boys.
If its said to be cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey it is very cold indeed. The reference to the testes as the term balls is commonly understood to mean of the brass monkey appears to be a 20thcentury variant on the expression, prefigured by a range of references to other body parts, especially the nose and tail. Mar 17, 2015 freezing the balls off the brass monkey, a navy phrase about cannon balls fiction. When exposed overnight to below freezing temperatures, an amazing phenomenon occurs. May 25, 2008 a monkey was a kind of tray on wooden fighting ships that held stacked up cannon balls. To examine the effects of transcorneal freezing using a new cryoprobe designed for corneal endothelial surgery.
Freeze the balls off a brass monkey phrase meaning and. Jul, 2007 it was sometimes cold enough to freeze the ears, tail, nose, or whiskers off a brass monkey. In this article, matthew wright examines the source behind the popular phrase cold enough to freeze the balls off of a brass monkey. The history of the albums began in the 1960s with martin carthy becoming a folk recording artist with dave swarbrick. Feb 11, 2011 hey dennisb, i just saw a neutered brass monkey wearing an o. Definition of its cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey from the collins english dictionary. The unprecedented cold that swept parts of the united states in early 2019 could be called brass monkey weather, though with the temperatures reported, that might be an understatement. This expression, which is normally used in relation to the weather is also known by the derivative phrase brass monkey weather. The real brass monkey and 6 other drinks made famous by hits.
Sep 26, 2014 brass monkey is a great move that transitions in and out of a lot of different positions around the pole. Look, ma its a genuine brass monkey freeze indicator. The band originally consisted of martin carthy vocals, guitar, mandolin, john kirkpat read more. They were innovative in their use of a brass section, which was atypical for english folk music. When temperature falls, brass contracts in size faster than iron. Brass monkey by beastie boys sampled wild sugars bring it here. 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. The real brass monkey and 6 other drinks made famous by hits by tim donnelly.
Its cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey definition and. Freeze the balls off a brass monkey phrase meaning and origin. Supposedly when the monkey with its stack of cannon ball became cold, the contraction of iron cannon balls. Brass monkey definition and meaning collins english dictionary. How fast it works depends on how cold it is read more. Brass monkey definition and meaning collins english. A brass monkey is a naval term for the holder that holds the cannon balls. Its cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey definition. Provided to youtube by surfdog records brass monkey richard cheese aperitif for destruction. Sep 18, 2016 heres a mixture of idiomatic expressions, commonly used phrases and words to describe coldness. It has often been claimed that the brass monkey was a holder or storage rack in which cannon balls or shot were stacked on a ship.
When the beastie boys song brass monkey was released in 1986, the song title left many people asking the question, what exactly is brass monkey. The albums were, brass monkey 1983 and see how it runs 1986. Just so you know, the beasties are not rapping about an actual monkey made from brass the beasties are rapping about a cocktail consisting of rum, vodka and orange juice. Likewise, it was sometimes hot enough to scald the throat or singe the hair of a brass. Was cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey a. You have a limited time to complete your booking before your reservation expires and you will have to start your reservation process again. The story henry gardner 10 april 1858 has its blowing hard enough to blow the nose off a brass monkey. Freeze the balls off a brass monkey posted by ward on september 01, 2004.
Originally formed as a fourpiece hardcore punk band, the young aborigines, in 1978 by michael diamond vocals, john berry guitar. In very cold weather the brass would contract, spilling the cannonballs. The phrase brass monkey weather refers to very cold weather that is extremely out of the ordinary. To freeze the balls off a brass monkey origin and meaning. To freeze the balls off a brass monkey means it is very cold. Oct 17, 2015 provided to youtube by surfdog records brass monkey richard cheese aperitif for destruction. Brass monkey is a great move that transitions in and out of a lot of different positions around the pole. Supposedly when the monkey with its stack of cannon ball became cold, the contraction of iron cannon balls led to the balls falling through or off of the monkey. According to legend, the term in full, cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey is neither nonsense, nor scatological.
Its cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. The complete brass monkey is in fact the first two original albums from brass monkey together on one disc. You can place it outside or in the freezer and when the monkey reaches 32 degrees its testicles drop off to indicate its below freezing. Definition of brass monkey in the idioms dictionary. The brass monkey freeze indicator our brass monkey freeze indicator is more than an attractive desk ornament and paperweight. The term to freeze the balls off a brass monkey is exactly that. The origin of the phrase cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey the short version. As it got cold on the gun decks, the indentations in the brass monkey would get. This piece of alleged history explains that in the olden days of sailing ships, cannon balls were stacked on the decks on brass plates called monkeys. The plates had indentions in them that held the balls on the bottoms of the stacks. Freezing the balls off the brass monkey, a navy phrase about cannon balls fiction. The brass monkey in cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey wasnt a stack of cannonballs or a brass three wise monkeys paperweight. The new brass monkey release uses our original 2008 design. The other day, i used the expression brass monkey weather and was asked to explain.
769 1549 1365 1225 229 724 78 179 1011 1076 1457 1225 198 1202 166 908 809 302 1552 1029 723 1429 490 746 457 533 522 446 50 1299 1416 72 550