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    what does "colder than the ball of a brass monkey" mean

    +1  Views: 214 Answers: 2 Posted: 15 years ago

    2 Answers

     


    Early warships fired iron cannonballs from a stack piled next to the cannon.  To keep them in place, they used a square piece of rust-proof brass with indentations to secure the bottom layer of balls.  This plate was known as the "monkey".  When it got cold enough, the mischievous brass monkey would shrink, causing the brass to fall out and roll all over the deck.  It was  "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey."


     


     

    It means that it is very cold. I like @Chiangmai's answer and explanation very much....



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