What is the origin of the phrase “as cold as ice”?
Comparisons using the word “cold” have existed in the English language since at least the Middle English period (circa 12th–15th century). But the phrase “as cold as ice” likely arose in the 18th or 19th century, building on earlier expressions such as “as cold as death” and “as cold as marble”
Impact of the phrase “as cold as ice”
The phrase “as cold as ice” owes its effectiveness to familiar imagery, because ice is universally experienced, and because of its connotative weight since it’s emotionally associated with danger and stillness. It’s also a very succinct metaphor, making it an ideal term for short messages, tweets and captions on memes.
The idiom intersects significantly with gender norms, especially in the portrayal of women, contributing to the construction of the “ice queen” trope, a woman who is: emotionally unyielding, seductively aloof, and seen as “unnatural” for her lack of warmth. This archetype appears in: C. S. Lewis’s White Witch (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) and Disney’s Elsa (Frozen, 2013).
What type of phrase is “as cold as ice”?
The phrase “as cold as ice” can be described as both a metaphor, because it is comparing two or more things to another, and an idiom, when it is not being used in the literal sense. It can also be described as a simile because it uses the word “as” to compare things. (Similes can also use the word “like” to compare things.)
How do you use the phrase “as cold as ice”? Examples
Sometimes people use the phrase “as cold as ice” literally to describe the temperature of something. For example, someone might say that food in a freezer is as cold as ice.
Other times, people might use it as hyperbole to exaggerate how cold something is that’s cool to the touch. For example, someone could say that water in a lake feels as cold as ice.
However, the phrase “as cold as ice” can also be used to refer to someone who is emotionally detached, whether it is because they are aloof or unwelcoming, or lacking in empathy or even cruel.
For example, when breaking up with someone, a person may be described as being as cold as ice if they seem unapologetic. Similarly, when laying off a large swathe of employees, the person doing so might be described as being as cold as ice.
The phrase can also be used to suggest cool-headedness, composure under pressure, or even sinister calmness, for example in a film a serial killer could be described as being as cold as ice.
International phrases about cold weather
Other languages have some interesting ways of describing cold weather, too. Here are some examples:
- Penguins are begging for tea money (Croatian)
- It’s as cold as Russian hell (Finnish)
- It’s as cold as a washerwoman’s buttock (Spanish)
- It’s dick cold (Greek)
- It’s duck cold (French)
- It’s pig cold (German)
- It’s so cold, the crow rides the bus (Spanish)
- As cold as in a Russian movie (Czech)
In Australian Aboriginal culture, people state the degrees of coldness as ‘one dog cold’, ‘two dog cold’, or ‘three dog cold’, depending on how many dogs you need to cuddle up against to stay warm.
What are some other ways of saying “as cold as ice”?
There are many words and phrases that can often be used synonymously, in place of “as cold as ice”. Here are some examples:
Expression
Meaning
Cold-hearted
Emotionally unfeeling; cruel
Freezing cold
Very/extremely cold
Ice in their veins
Calm under pressure; fearless
Cold shoulder
Deliberate social snub
Frozen inside
Psychologically or emotionally locked away
Cool as a cucumber
Calm but not necessarily unkind
Ice-cold
As cold as ice
Chilled to the bone
Very/extremely cold
Chilly / frosty / nippy / crisp / icy
Cold
How do you say the opposite of “as cold as ice”?
There are also many ways to say the opposite of “as cold as ice”. Here are some examples:
- Warm-hearted
- Kind hearted
- Welcoming
- Warm / hot
- Boiling / boiling hot
- Sweltering
- Overheated
- As hot as the sun
- Scorching hot
- Empathetic
- Caring
What are some notable uses of the phrase “as cold as ice”?
Music
Perhaps the most iconic usage of the phrase “as cold as ice” in modern culture comes from the classic rock song (titled As Cold As Ice) by the band Foreigner on their debut album, also titled Foreigner, released in 1977. The chorus features the lyric “You’re as cold as ice / You’re willing to sacrifice our love.” It uses the phrase to characterize emotional coldness and selfishness in a romantic partner. The repetition of the line embeds it firmly in popular consciousness, and it solidified the idiom in pop vernacular.
There has been several cover versions of this song spanning several different genres of music, including electronic/dance, rock/pop, jazz/blues, and easy listening.