How cold must it be to freeze a brass monkey?

Question

What is a brass monkey anyway?

Answer 1

In Regards to what a brass monkey is/was:
The slang term "brass monkeys" is actually a shortening of the phrase "cold enough to freeze the tail off a brass monkey." (Common variants of the phrase almost invariably specify a more risque element of the monkey's anatomy, but we'll go with "tail" for purposes of this column.) While a brass monkey might seem an outlandish item, such knickknacks were, in fact, quite popular in Victorian drawing rooms, usually found in sets of three, set in the classic kitsch "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" pose. Given that brass monkeys were the Lava Lamps of the age and thus never far from the Victorian mind, their use in the phrase is not surprising. Of course, given the shocking dearth of brass monkeys in modern living rooms, it's also not surprising that the phrase seems so mysterious to us today.

In regards to the other answer mentioning the old cannonballs on ships myth: http://www.word-detective.com/111606C.html#brassmonkey06

Answer 2

I don't know if this is a myth or fact but the story has been around for years.

The story goes that cannonballs used to be stored aboard ship in piles, on a brass frame or tray called a 'monkey'. In very cold weather the brass would contract, spilling the cannonballs: hence very cold weather is 'cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey'.

Answer 3

Brass "freezes" at -18 degrees centigrade or if you mean solidify then it goes from liquid to solid at +247 degrees centigrade!
Poor monkey!

Answer 4

The point of "freezing" a solid is 1 degree lower than its bowling point...

or just put some water on it and put it in the freezer

Answer 5

I would say anything under 32 degrees would be freezing weather

Answer 6

32 degrees, Farenheit. Unless a wind is blowing, then 34.6 degrees.

Answer 7

I dont know. try getting on the Beastie Boys, web site.

Answer 8

Colder than a witch's tite!