"nip in the air"

Posted by Bob on March 02, 2001

In Reply to: "Nip in the air" posted by ESC on March 02, 2001

: : Does anyone know where the phrase "nip in the air" comes from? A friend claims that it has racist origins,and originated in WWII as a reference to Japanese planes. I find that to be far fetched since that origin has nothing whatever to do with the current meaning of the phrase, "chilly".

: : I have always assume that "nip" in this context referred to being nipped or lightly bitten, describing the feeling of cold air on the skin.

: : Anyone know?

: It's nip as in "Jack Frost nipping at your nose."

Yes. Once again, we have proved (that is, tested) the theory that there is no joke so obvious ("Did you hear about the Japanese astronaut?") that there isn't some humorless soul out there who will take it seriously. Why this should happen so regularly in word and phrase origins (the phenomenon of "folk etymology") is an interesting question. I firmly believe it is impossible to construct an explanation of "the whole nine yards" so goofy and improbable that somebody somewhere won't buy into it and repeat it, swearing he heard it's true.

• "Nip in the air" Btd 03/02/01