cold as balls
1
9.9
- idiom
- /koʊld æz bɔlz/
- Offensive
:
frío del carajo
- After walking home in the snow, my feet felt cold as balls and numb.
Examples
-
It's cold as balls outside!
-
Camping in the mountains during winter is cold as balls—make sure to bring extra blankets!
-
It was cold as balls in that movie theater, so I had to wear my jacket the whole time.
-
I can't believe how cold as balls this room is!
-
After standing outside for too long, I felt cold as balls and couldn't wait to go inside.
-
The wind whipped through the trees, and it was cold as balls on the beach.
-
I forgot my jacket, and now I'm cold as balls waiting for the bus.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Having a low temperature that feels chilly
89
1.0
Very cold with surfaces covered in ice
34
1.0
Very cold, like frozen water
30
4.1
Very cold, like ice or freezing air
15
1.3
Very cold, at or below freezing
5
7.0
Very cold or scary
1
4.1
Very cold with no warmth left
1
9.9
Very cold in a way that feels unpleasant
1
6.8
Very cold, often with a strong wind
Very cold in a way that makes being outside difficult
So cold that water turns to ice
Very low in temperature and clearly unfriendly
Feeling quite cold, often said about the weather
Antonyms
How Cold
Surface Forms
Morphology
The simile pattern 'as X as Y' and the known adjective 'cold' make it possible for a learner to guess this means 'very cold', but the choice of 'balls' as a vulgar intensifier is idiomatic and culturally marked. Because the emphatic meaning relies on slang usage rather than a predictable compositional meaning of the noun, it is not fully transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The slang phrase cold as balls uses a vivid image: male testicles hang outside the body and quickly feel very cold. Because that picture is strong and a little funny, people say cold as balls to mean 'very cold' or to exaggerate how cold something is.