For real! Now tell me if you know what it really refers to.
2007-01-07 16:01:23 · 15 answers · asked by Lamron 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
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. Brass, however, expands and contracts with the temperature and if it got cold enough, the cannon balls could fall...giving real foundation to the phrase "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey!"
2007-01-07 16:06:00 · answer #1 · answered by surfer_grl_ca 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
oh yeah....many times. It's an older phrase...I think from the 30's or 40's. My old man used to say it quite frequently. It references cold temperature, ( no particular degree) as everyone doesn't feel the cold the same way. Example: you might be freezing cold at 42 degrees, but another person might not find 42 that bad. So it's a personal expression one uses to voice their own contempt to a certain temperature. Just like the saying " it's colder than a well diggers wallet" or another is "it's colder than a witch's tit". Or my own favorite " it's colder than my ex wife's heart".
2007-01-07 16:11:40 · answer #2 · answered by john h 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
from the Navy huni brass monkeys are the brass triangles that supported stacks of iron cannon-balls on sailing ships were called monkeys and that in cold weather the metal contracted, causing the balls to fall off. my sister and brother inlaw were in the navy they taught me well lol!
2016-05-23 07:24:06 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
ive heard it and the expression its brass monkeys out here it means it cold dont it lol
2007-01-07 16:04:12 · answer #4 · answered by lady_luck 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Brass monkey! That funky monkey!
2007-01-07 16:03:03 · answer #5 · answered by Izzy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good one. The one I heard was "colder than a witch's tit in a brass cup."
2007-01-07 16:10:06 · answer #6 · answered by Pens 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it means that is is superrrrrrrrr cold!!! Brass is hard so to freeze of brass is extremely cold!!!
2007-01-07 16:03:18 · answer #7 · answered by RIAN4812 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
never but heard the expression colder than a witches titties in a brass bra.. lol
2007-01-07 16:03:50 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you would go to the Google search site and type your question, you will find a lot of information concerning the question.
2007-01-07 16:08:34 · answer #9 · answered by Living In Korea 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
public enermies - brass monkey
2007-01-07 16:05:47 · answer #10 · answered by urban eve 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋