cold as a witch's tit
1
9.9
- idiom
- Offensive
- When I stepped out of the house, I realized it was cold as a witch's tit this morning.
Examples
-
Everyone agreed that the water in the lake was cold as a witch's tit during the early spring.
-
This whole town's been saying you're cold as a witch's tit for years.
Fiction book (1999) -
The winter breeze made it feel cold as a witch's tit outside.
Synonyms
156
1.0
So cold that water turns to ice
91
1.0
Very cold with surfaces covered in ice
42
1.0
Very cold, like frozen water
34
4.1
Very cold, like ice or freezing air
30
3.6
Very cold with no warmth
25
1.3
Very cold, at or below freezing
22
4.1
Very cold with no warmth left
6
7.0
Very cold or scary
1
9.9
People say this to mean very cold in a joking, exaggerated way
1
5.5
Very cold in behavior, showing no warmth or friendliness
1
6.8
Very cold, often with a strong wind
1
4.7
Very low in temperature and clearly unfriendly
1
7.2
Very cold in a way that makes being outside difficult
Antonyms
How Cold
Surface Forms
Morphology
The simile pattern 'cold as ...' and the presence of 'cold' make it relatively clear that the expression signals an intense degree of cold, so a learner who knows the words and comparative structure can infer it means 'very cold'. However, the specific image 'witch's tit' is a culturally specific, vulgar metaphor whose link to extreme cold is not predictable and carries register information learners may not grasp, so the meaning is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Cold as a witch's tit comes from old stories that pictured witches as lifeless and very cold, so people imagined a witch's tit, meaning her 'breast', would feel icy. So, saying something is cold as a witch's tit means it is extremely cold.