How do you use "Brass monkey weather" in a sentence?

It's brass monkey weather out there. Brass monkeys today—wear a coat. Freezing brass monkeys!

Brass monkey weather

Q: What does "Brass monkey weather" mean?

Extremely cold weather Very cold weather—from the full phrase 'cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.' The 'monkey' may have been a brass frame holding cannonballs.

Slang Term BritishAustralian ★★★★☆ Common Casual

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Meaning: Extremely cold weather

极其寒冷的天气

Tiempo extremadamente frío

極寒の天気

극심한 추위

Very cold weather—from the full phrase 'cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.' The 'monkey' may have been a brass frame holding cannonballs.

非常寒冷的天气——源自完整的短语'cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey'（冷得能把铜猴的球冻掉）。'monkey'可能指的是放置炮弹的铜制架子。

Tiempo muy frío, derivado de la expresión completa 'cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey' (hace tanto frío que se le caerían las bolas a un mono de bronce). El 'monkey' podría haber sido un soporte de bronce para balas de cañón.

非常に寒い天気を指す。完全なフレーズ「cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey（真鍮の猿の玉が凍るほど寒い）」に由来する。「monkey」は砲弾を載せる真鍮の台座を指していた可能性がある。

극심한 추위를 뜻하며, 'cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey'라는 완전한 표현에서 유래. 'monkey'는 포탄을 올려놓는 놋쇠 받침대였다는 설이 있다.

Examples

It's brass monkey weather out there.
外面冷得要命
Fuera hace un frío que pela
外は凍えるような寒さだ
밖은 뼈가 시린 추위다.
Brass monkeys today—wear a coat.
今天冷死了，穿件大衣吧
Hoy hace un frío terrible, ponte un abrigo
今日は極寒だ、コートを着ろ
오늘 엄청 춥다—코트 입어라.
Freezing brass monkeys!
冻死人了！
¡Hace un frío espantoso!
めちゃくちゃ寒い！
얼어 죽을 만큼 춥다!

Pronunciation

Usage Guide

Context: informal, weather

Tone: humorous, emphatic

✓ Do Say

Brass monkey weather
极寒天气
tiempo gélido
極寒の天気
뼈가 시린 날씨
Brass monkeys
冷极了
hace un frío terrible
凍えるほど寒い
얼어 죽을 만큼 추워

✗ Don't Say

The full phrase is crude
完整的短语比较粗俗
La expresión completa es bastante grosera
元のフレーズは下品な表現
완전한 표현은 저속함

Common Mistakes

Saying the full uncensored version inappropriately

Origin & History

Possibly from naval term 'brass monkey'—a brass frame holding cannonballs that would contract in cold, making the balls fall off. Etymology disputed but naval origin likely.

Etymology: Possibly naval: brass ball holder

First recorded: 20th century

Cultural Context

Era: 20th century onwards

Generation: All generations

Social background: Universal

Pop culture: British weather chat

Regional notes: British and Australian expression.

Variations

Brass monkey weatherBrass monkeysFreezing brass monkeys