Re: As cold as
noway@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
....
colder than the balls on a brass monkey...
Well, not exactly! The correct version is Cold enough to freeze the
balls off a brass monkey.
This stems from the days of fighting sail, when beside each of the guns
stood a triangular frame made of brass in which lay the cannonballs.
Salt water doesn't freeze unless the temperature really plunges to very
low figures so if the water that sluiced around the gundeck froze and
pushed the balls up out of the frame, it was horribly cold.
--
Ian.
Ft Worth, TX
.
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(alt.usage.english) |
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