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Glite Dictionary
cold shower

cold shower

5.1
A sudden event that shocks or disappoints someone
  • noun
  • Informal
translation icon : ducha fría
  • She received a cold shower of harsh criticism after her presentation failed to impress the audience.

Examples

  • His unexpected job loss felt like a cold shower, leaving him shocked and unprepared for the future.

  • We were required to awaken every day at 3:30 a.m., take a cold shower, and then from 4 a.m. until 6:30 a.m. do a sadhana (spiritual discipline) of yoga, meditation, chanting, and prayer.

    Blog text (17)

  • Even I need a cold shower after that one.

    What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012)

  • -You need a cold shower.

    Lianna (1983)

  • I'm gonna take a cold shower.

    Nurse 3-D (2013)

  • I'm gonna go take a cold shower now.

    Malibu Express (1985)

  • Put you in a cold shower and put that white bug powder all over ya.

    Running Time (1997)

  • But the reason people take the cold shower for a lot of people is because it just it, it's the mental barrier of starting my day doing the hard thing.

  • And so please, I beg you to take this talk, this moment, this night, to have the cold shower that I'm trying to deliver, to recognize you're not doing enough.

  • "It would be like a cold shower for Congressman Pence if he were to become governor, because in the statehouse, you don't have an option of arithmetic rules."

    Blog text (17)

Synonyms

shock to the system
vscold shower
4 6.3

A sudden change in life or work that feels unpleasant and hard to handle

is a sudden personal shock that disappoints and abruptly awakens someone
bolt from the blue
vscold shower
  • Informal
2 6.5

A sudden event that shocks people and is not expected

is a sudden experience that specifically disappoints and acts like an awakening

How Shocking

body blow
2 7.3
gut punch
  • Informal
1 8.0
cold shower
  • Informal
5.1
wake-up call
18 3.4
eye-opener
16 4.4

Surface Forms

cold shower singular
cold showers plural

Morphology

cold + shower

The literal parts 'cold' (unpleasant, chilling) and 'shower' (a sudden brief occurrence) combine to suggest an abrupt, unpleasant event, so a learner who knows both words could plausibly infer a notion of sudden shock. However, the transfer to the more specific figurative senses (a disappointing or sobering reality-check) is metaphorical and not fully predictable without exposure, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The noun cold shower comes from the image of stepping into a shower and finding the water is cold, a sudden unpleasant shock. That is why people use it for an event that leaves you 'shocked' or 'disappointed'.