# Phrase origin...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrase-origin/66493>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 25, 2001, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrase-origin/66493 "2001-05-25T16:25:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrase-origin/66493/1 "2001-05-25T16:25:58Z")

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What’s the origin of the phrase “Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey?”

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**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2001, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrase-origin/66493/2 "2001-05-25T16:55:52Z")

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No one is sure. But it **does not** comes from cannon balls being stored on ships – see [snope’s article](http://www.snopes2.com/language/stories/brass.htm). The Word Detective offers a theory that the phrase comes from [brass monkey knickknacks](http://www.word-detective.com/back-r.html#monkeys) that were common during the Victorian era.