Bitter cold has made it’s way to the southern Appalachian Mountains. Tonight is forecast to be the coldest night of the year. The temp this morning was a frigid 16 degrees-in my opinion thats just about cold enough.
When describing just how cold it is, folks can get pretty imaginative like:
- Cold as whiz (I always say this when it’s cold-I have no clue what it means.)
- Cold as all get out (again what could this possibly mean?)
- Cold as a banker’s heart
- Cold as a well diggers butt
- Cold as a cast iron commode
- Blue cold
- So cold a flame on a candle would freeze
- Cold as a frog’s butt
- Too cold to snow (Pap has always said this one-and it always confused me how could it be too cold to snow?)
I know much of the US is experiencing freezing temperatures right now-so how cold is it at your house?
Tipper
I just found your site. I was looking for the saying Sour as whiz. I was born in West Virginia and it’s a family saying.
I hope you stay warm and loved these pictures.
Around here they say, “Cold as mess.” I have no idea where the phrase came from, but I’ll tell ya, when I got up this morning it was def cold as mess! Our pipes were frozen. 🙁
Here in the UK it’s warmer than it has been right now although forecast to get cold and snowy again this weekend. We frequently use the expression “brass monkeys”. My 75 year old mother used it over Christmas when she waited for me for 10 mins in the car, saying her father always used the expression – not sure when he would have used it as they lived in the tropics! I asked her if she knew the whole expression but she asked to be enlighted. “Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey”. She wasn’t surprised that it was fairly crude as her father was a captain in the Merchant Navy.
Here in the UK it’s warmer than it has been right now although forecast to get cold and snowy again this weekend. We frequently use the expression “brass monkeys”. My 75 year old mother used it over Christmas when she waited for me for 10 mins in the car, saying her father always used the expression – not sure when he would have used it as they lived in the tropics! I asked her if she knew the whole expression but she asked to be enlighted. “Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey”. She wasn’t surprised that it was fairly crude as her father was a captain in the Merchant Navy.
My Mother-in-law always said, “It’s cold as kraut” and I never understood that saying.
Tonight, in Clay Co NC, it is colder than kraut, I’m sure. Brr. I’m glad I’m inside a warm house and snuggly bed.
These are great. Blue cold was a big one with my dad. Right now we’re just thinking “colder than necessary.” We’re in the 0 range and feeling it to the bone!
First let me say how much I am enjoying the Unknown Track-24 on your player. My foot just won’t stop tapping the floor. 🙂
As you saw on my post, it was -3 this morning. I’ve never heard of ‘cold as whiz’ but I like it. Is it the same as when our Grandpop used to say it was ‘too cold to write your name in the snow’? 🙂 xxoo
*laughing* I loved the different expressions used for describing how cold. My favorite because it sounds so poetic is “so cold the flame on a candle would freeze.” I just might start
using it. Fun post, Tipper! Have a wonderful weekend! :))
nope it’s never too cold to snow 🙂 I just say it’s freezin’ out there! I like the one about the well diggers butt – lol
We got off easy this time. The cold air was East of us.
I’m tagging you for a
6th picture meme
Check out my blog & see what it is all about.
Tipper,
I also say it’s too cold to snow. It seems that when it is frigid, there is no snow. Warmer temperatures bring cold. When it was warmer here, we had snow. Since the deep freeze moved in, nothing.
Dad used to say “cold enough the freeze the nuts off a steel bridge.” Extreme cold can do this because the metal becomes so cold that the nuts and bolts snap.
Thanks for the memories. Enjoyed my visit, as always.
Be warm and safe, my friend.
Blessings,
Mary
I’ve heard some of these before, but not all. I also have heard the “Cold as Whiz” completely different, I always heard it as “Warm as whiz” referring to something being piss warm!
I also heard the “Cold as a well-diggers butt” only with the butt using different terminology, if you catch my drift.
Also, I remember regular saying about the cold included:
“Cold as a Witch’s (mammary)”
There’s another one that refers to the witch but I don’t know how to tell it without being vulgar (hey, it’s a vulgar saying). It is “Cold as a Witches…” and the last word is also used to describe a little piece of apple that is used when making Apple Pie. It starts with S and is 4 letters.
But here’s one that’s G-rated, “Cold as a mother-in-law’s heart”.
Also, we always used the “Blue Cold” as “Blue A$$ed Cold”, I think this came from spending too much time in the outhouse in cold weather. I remember how numb your butt cheeks would get. I don’t miss the butt numbness that would follow when your posterior would warm up once coming back inside.
Also, we use “Too cold to snow”. It seldom snows very much if the weather gets down low. I’m guessing because cold fronts are dry, and you need moisture in the air for snow to occur.
Good post.
Matthew
I am so cold just reading these comments and reading your blog, bundled up in a blanky. It was in the 70’s here in sunny California. We pay for the sun however! 🙂 Many of those cold sayings I have never heard, except for the witches one.
Another one I heard growing up in Oklahoma, also mentioned by Farmchick, was “colder than a witch’s tit”. Somewhat crude, yes. ;-Þ
It’s 23 with a windchill of 13 here in northeast Texas right now. We’ve certainly not broken any records, as we usually do get some cold weather like this each winter, though not much.
It’s awful cold here, too! Tonight our low will be around 10 degrees and all the way up to 34 tomorrow. Makes me want spring to hurry up! Stay warm!!!
It’s 18 here in sunny NE ARkansas. I’ve heard most of the sayings too, and I agree that they all fit here today.
Tipper,
It sure is cold as “gouge” as my mamma says. Had to get out my long johns.
It’s cold in Black Mountain, NC. 25 degrees at 12 noon. Ouch! and supposed to be 7 in the morning. I’ve heart the poor cold witch expression most but there was also one about a brass monkey–haha!
I love these mountains I live in but as I grow older I could do without the bitter cold.
My brother in law always says, “It’s colder than a witches tit”. I guess that must be really cold.
We are in the single digits here, with a forecast of even colder weather tonight. We have two woodstoves running in our old house!
Hi, Tipper. Right now here in Blk Mtn it is about 34* on my porch but that wind is blowing and that makes it feel colder. Brrr! It was in the teens this morning.
I’ve heard colder than blue blazes.
I am reporting in from sunny Newport News VA (Near Williamsburg) where it is a sunny 41 this morning. We are suppose to get down to 15 here tonight which for our area is really really cold. Thankfully we rarely get snow here although we will get some mixed with rain which is what they are calling for on Sunday but it won’t stick because it is suppose to remain in the low 40’s. I have heard of it being to cold to snow which I always took to mean that it was so cold there was no moisture in the air to make snow..
All I know is it is COLD outside!
I always say “Cold as all get out” and I have no idea why.
It is 13 right now…supposed to be 0 tonight!
I went out yesterday morning in my tee shirt and sleep pants and it seemed a little cool to me. Apparently they remembered to close the gap up in Amarillo last night. Stay warm. Pappy
It’s 0 here in NE Ohio this morning. Around here you’d likely hear someone say that’s colder than a witches tit.
It is around 38 degrees here so not nearly as bad as it was a couple weeks ago. We have always said colder than all get out.
Freezing tamales!
I don’t know where I got that one, but I say it all the time when it gets, oh, below 40 or so.
Today? Probably got up to 60. Not too bad.
I hope you stay warm tonight. We are having beautiful weather in California right now…short sleeve weather and I want cold!
We’ve been having the same temperatures here, but thankfully usually sunny during the day. Doesn’t mean my house warms up, but I can go outside for some 55 degree sun which is nice. My mom would have said, “As cold as a witche’s tit.”
Well, it was 60 today, but it’s in the 30’s tonight. I think we get down in the 20’s tomorrow night. Balmy by your standards, but too cold for me. : )
I am almost embarrased to report that here in NE Okla, at 7:oopm, it is a breezy 25 degrees and dropping fast, supposed to get in the single digits tonite and a high of maybe 15 degrees. It’s colder than all get out, and gonna be a “3 dog nite”, tonite. I wish I had 3 dogs to curl up with, I don’t think the parakeets will put out much heat, nor the snake or the turtles. LOL I gotta gets me some sizable mammals. Preferably some with warm wooly coats. Or maybe I should just turn the heater up a notch and put some socks on, and maybe a cuppa hot tea would help. Lawza Mercy it’s cold. Terry
Don’t hate me but it’s a clear blue sky sunny 74 degrees. This is what we brave the horrible summers for. 🙂
“Baby it’s cold outside”
PNW and it is forty-three but after our December bout of cold it sure seems warmer than that.
Too cold to snow!!! I thought that that was strickly a PNWism. Because if we get really cold it usually is only when there is no precip. Our precip comes up from down Hawaii way and so snow around here is when it is right around the thirty-two mark and then only for a day or two.
When my dad said “it’s too cold to snow.” I took it like he was saying the sky was blue. Yes, it is and that’s the truth. When my brother got all big on himself and said it, I’d just haul off and kick him in his shins and then run.
Tipper: It is 14F with a low of 8F tonight, it will be a high of 10F tomorrow with a low of -4F tomorrow night. I agree with Pap, it is too cold to snow. The weather for snow likes to be around freezing to have good accumulations. Temperatures of 25F to 35F are best for snow.
My brother Clyde always said, “It’s colder than a witches tit.”
I’ve heard most of yours too, except for the whiz thing. Whiz is something you do when you gotta go. *wink*
And It was about 20 here this morning. I didn’t look at the thermometer. I “figgered” if I looked at it and it said colder than I thought it was, then I would be colder. And i was already colder than a witches black heart.
Loved the words….as for the term “too cold to snow” yes, it can be too cold to snow….really. If you ever notice the weather before it snows.. it will be very cold, then if might get a little warmer, it will then start snowing. My grandfather told me this when I was young and especially here in Texas… you can tell when it is just about to snow when the temperature drops. Blessings, Kathleen
I know this much: It’s too cold up here to stick your tongue on a flagpole.
If you’ve ever had to go out in weather like this and chop wood for the stove, if you’ve ever had to split the wood with a wedge, you can appreciate how cold it is when my wife says “Brrrrrrrrrr, it’s colder’n a wedge.
So this is global warming …
It’s cold as all get out.
Supposed to get down to -1 tomorrow night.
It was 16 degrees at my house today. Sweet Pea would have said that “it’s cold as kraut.” Of course, my brother and I always thought she was saying “cold as crap!”
My uncle has also said that “it’s cold as as frosted frog.”
Granddaddy, when asked if it’s cold outside, would reply “Yep, it’s a might airish.”
It is a balmy 7 degrees here, up from 3 this morning.
It’s 7 degrees here with wind chills of 20 below zero and expected to get colder before the week is out! Double BRRRRRR!
I’ve heard “Cold as charity” too.
It’s going to be 4 degrees tomorrow eve here and our high Friday is supposed to be 5 degrees. Our place upstate, they are talking about 25 below. I think I’ll stay put and stick with the 4!
it is COLD.
lots of layers cold.
hot tea and cocoa and coffee cold.
too cold to let the chickens out cold.
but only for a few more days . . .