One suggestion relates it to brass trays known as monkeys on which cannon balls were once stowed aboard warships.
What is the origin of the term 'brass monkey'?
Yesterday forenoon it snowed; afternoon, sunshine, snow and so forth—and last night I have found another early instance of the phrase in a letter that one E. S. Anderson, belonging to “I slept in our tent, had our camp tools for my cot, and water swimming around me, in the morning my boots full of water, and That ‘new head’ of the Aurora, is one of the last efforts of genius. Supposedly when the "monkey" with its stack of cannon ball became cold, the contraction of iron cannon balls led to the balls falling through or off of the "monkey." When The Beastie Boys song “Brass Monkey” was released in 1986, the song title left many people asking the question, what exactly is “Brass Monkey“?. The phrase ‘Brass Monkey Weather’ refers to very cold weather that is extremely out of the ordinary; cold enough to freeze the tail, nose and ears of a brass monkey. Really, seriously, and soberly, we are becoming very much dissatisfied with the weather: we won’t stand it much longer—we won’t. The word "monkey" is of uncertain origin; its first known usage was in 1498 when it was used in the literary work Reynard the Fox as the name of the son of Martin the Ape.
Any ideas? Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Just so you know, The Beasties are not rapping about an actual monkey made from brass… The Beasties are rapping about a cocktail consisting of rum, vodka and orange juice. "Brass monkey" is also the nickname for the Cunard Line's house flag which depicts a gold lion rampant on a red field. As we have seen, the lexical evidence doesn’t support this. An actual brass monkey was thought to be a naval contraption - here's the story we heard: Back in the day of naval wars being fought with the old fashioned cannons, they would stack the cannonballs in … The other day, I used the expression brass monkey weather and was asked to explain.
What Is the Origin of the Saying "To Freeze The Balls Off a Brass Monkey"? The term "Brass Monkey" comes from the figure of speech, "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey." These shot racks or garlands are discussed in: Longridge, C. Nepean.
The term brass monkey is used to refer to extremely cold weather in expressions such as brass-monkey weather.
Oxford Languages. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. According to the tale, in cold weather the rack would shrink, spilling the balls onto the deck.
'It's brass monkeys outside' Credit: Anthony Devlin/PA Used to describe cold weather, this saying derives from the traditional Navy phrase "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey".
“Whar did you cum frum!” _____What a horrid nasty climate we live in, to be sure: a day or two since it was Richmond Aurora.Shocking intelligence! Loading... Unsubscribe from Oxford Languages? Any ideas? This explanation appears to be a legend of the sea without historical justification. The other day, I used the expression brass monkey weather and was asked to explain. Abbey in his book It has often been claimed that the "brass monkey" was a holder or storage rack in which cannon balls (or shot) were stacked on a ship. Subscribe Subscribed Unsubscribe 47.4K. A "powder monkey" was a boy who carried gun powder from the magazine to cannons and performed other ordnance duties on a warship (usage dating to 1682).The first recorded use of the term "brass monkey" appears to dates to 1857 when it was used in an apparently vulgar context by C.A. ": : : : The full expansion of the phrase is "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" and is extremely common throughout the English-speaking world, often reduced to the form you give, no doubt in polite company. A "monkey" was a kind of gun or cannon (usage dating to 1650). “Freezing the Balls Off the Brass Monkey,” a Navy Phrase about Cannon Balls–Fiction!. This usage is derived from the hyperbolic phrase cold enough to freeze the nose (or the tail, the balls, etc.) He arose, lighted up his parlor, and proceeded to open the door, when lo and behold, sitting there, solitary and alone, An allusion to such statuettes appeared in an article about the Insane Asylum of the State of California, published in Ingenuity.—An enterprising genius out west has made The village of Lima, Allen county, Ohio, is about to be tickeled [sic] with an appropriation of
The oft-repeated, but false, nautical origin would have the monkey be a brass rack used to store cannonballs on board ship.