The phrase "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" is a colloquial expression used by some English speakers. The reference to the testes (as the term balls is commonly understood to mean) of the brass monkey appears to be a twentieth century variant on the expression, prefigured by a range of references to other body parts, especially the nose and tail. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Look up testes in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Brazen redirects here. ...

These earlier expressions would seem to indicate that the brass monkey took the form of a real monkey, rather than being the name for some dissimilar object, without a nose and tail, such as a tray to hold cannonballs as has been theorised. Cannonball can refer to: The ammunition for a cannon. ...

During the 19th and 20th centuries, small monkeys cast from the alloy brass were very common tourist souvenirs from China and Japan. They usually, but not always, came in a set of three representing the Three Wise Monkeys carved in wood above the Shrine of Toshogu in Nikkō, Japan. These monkeys were often cast with all three in a single piece. In other sets they were made singly. Although three was the usual number, some sets of monkeys added a fourth, with its hand covering its genitals, which may have given rise to, or contributed to, the current form of the expression. Approximate worldwide distribution of monkeys. ... Brazen redirects here. ... For other uses, see Souvenir (disambiguation). ... The Three Wise Monkeys carved above the entrance to a stable in the Nikkō TōshōgÅ« shrine in Japan The three wise monkeys (Japanese: 三猿, san-zaru, or 三匹の猿, san-biki no saru, three monkeys) are a pictorial maxim. ... Yomeimon at Nikko Toshogu Toshogu (東照宮) is any Shinto shrine in which Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the last shogunate of Japan, is enshrined with the name Tosho Dai Gongen. ... Great Gate, Nikko, circa 1860-1900. ... A sex organ, or primary sexual characteristic, narrowly defined, is any of those parts of the body (which are not always bodily organs according to the strict definition) which are involved in sexual reproduction and constitute the reproductive system in an complex organism; namely: Male: penis (notably the glans penis...

The theory of the Three Wise Monkeys as being the source of the expression is supported by Michael Quinion, advisor to The Oxford English Dictionary and author of World Wide Words.^[1] The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a comprehensive multi-volume dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). ...

Whether or not it was these brass monkeys—common objects that could be purchased in any store selling Asian goods—or some other object, possibly not closely related to actual monkeys, has been a subject of speculation, theories and association.

The phrase, as it is currently used, is found in most English-speaking countries, and is sometimes abbreviated to "brass monkey weather". According to Quinion, the expressions relating to "brass monkeys" have more currency in Australia and New Zealand than elsewhere.

Early recorded uses of the expression

Early references to "brass monkeys" in the 19th century have no references to balls at all, but instead variously say that it is cold enough to freeze the tail, nose, ears, and whiskers off a brass monkey; or hot enough to "scald the throat" or "singe the hair" of a brass monkey. All of these variations imply that an actual monkey is the subject of the metaphor. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• The first recorded use of freezing a "brass monkey" dates from 1857, being on page 108 of Before the Mast by C.A. Abbey in his book, where it says "It would freeze the tail off a brass monkey".^[2]
• The expression "hot enough to melt the nose off a brass monkey" dates from 1847.^[3] It similarly occurs in the context of heat in Herman Melville's Omoo (1850): "It was so excessively hot in this still, brooding valley, shut out from the Trades, and only open toward the leeward side of the island, that labor in the sun was out of the question. To use a hyperbolical phrase of Shorty's, 'It was 'ot enough to melt the nose h'off a brass monkey.'"
• The Story of Waitstill Baxter, by Kate Douglas Wiggin (1913) has "The little feller, now, is smart's a whip, an' could talk the tail off a brass monkey".^[4]
• The Ivory Trail, by Talbot Mundy (1919) has "He has the gall of a brass monkey".^[5]

The current reference to the monkey's balls, rather than its nose, tail or other anatomical part or characteristic such as "gall" is in line with a general trend within the 20th century towards sexually orientated or obscene references in colloquial English.^[6] Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. ...

Other theories on the origin of the expression

Cannonballs

One theory, of sufficient popularity as to be an example of so-called folk etymology, is that a brass monkey is a brass tray used in naval ships during the Napoleonic Wars, for the storage of cannonballs, piled up in a pyramid. The theory goes that the tray, would contract in cold weather, causing the balls to fall off. This theory is discredited by the US. Department of the Navy^[7] and the etymologist Michael Quinion and the OED's AskOxford web site[3] for five main reasons: Folk etymology is a term used in two distinct ways: A commonly held misunderstanding of the origin of a particular word, a false etymology. ... Combatants Austria[a] Portugal Prussia[a] Russia[b] Sicily[c] Sardinia  Spain[d]  Sweden[e] United Kingdom French Empire Holland[f] Italy Etruria[g] Naples[h] Duchy of Warsaw[i] Confederation of the Rhine[j] Bavaria Saxony Westphalia Württemberg Denmark-Norway[k] Commanders Archduke Charles Prince Schwarzenberg Karl Mack... Cannonball can refer to: The ammunition for a cannon. ... In physics, thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to change in volume in response to a change in temperature. ...

1. The Oxford English Dictionary does not record the term "monkey" or "brass monkey" being used in this way.
2. The purported method of storage of cannonballs ("round shot") is simply false. Shot was not stored on deck continuously on the off-chance that the ship might go into battle. Indeed, decks were kept as clear as possible.
3. Furthermore, such a method of storage would result in shot rolling around on deck and causing a hazard in high seas. Shot was stored on the gun or spar decks, in shot racks—longitudinal wooden planks with holes bored into them, known as shot garlands in the Royal Navy, into which round shot were inserted for ready use by the gun crew.
4. Shot was not left exposed to the elements where it could rust. Such rust could lead to the ball not flying true. Indeed, gunners would attempt to remove as many imperfections as possible from the surfaces of balls.
5. The physics do not stand up to scrutiny. All of the balls would contract equally, and the contraction of both balls and plate over the range of temperatures involved would not be particularly large. The effect claimed possibly could be reproduced under laboratory conditions with objects engineered to a high precision for this purpose, but it is unlikely it would ever have occurred in real life aboard a warship.

The Oxford English Dictionary print set The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP), and is the most successful dictionary of the English language, (not to be confused with the one-volume Oxford Dictionary of English, formerly New Oxford Dictionary of English, of... This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ... A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor demonstrates the Meissner effect. ...

Brass Cannons

A similar theory states that expression refers to a cannon. Quinion notes that there was a cannon nicknamed this in the mid-seventeenth century (i.e. much too early).

However, although early brass cannons known as 'monkeys' were outmoded by cast iron cannon, cast iron, when very cold, becomes brittle. So, in very cold weather the cast iron cannons could be prone to shattering when fired. Brass is not subject to the same effect, so brass guns could still be fired safely in cold weather. Thus it became a seamans ironic joke that in extreme cold weather they would have to revert to using old fashioned 'brass monkeys' (even though the Royal Navy no longer had any in use) Hence it would be 'cold enough to use brass monkeys' - nothing to do with genitals.

Cunard

The "brass monkey" is the nickname of the house flag of the Cunard Line, adopted in 1878, a lion rampant or on a field gules holding a globe.^[8] The reference is almost certainly irreverent humour, rather than a source of the expression, of which variants predate it. The Cunard Line, formerly Cunard White Star Line, is a British cruise line, operator of ocean liners RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) and RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2). ... 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Gold is a shade of the color yellow closest to that of gold metal. ... In heraldry the background of the shield is called the field . ... For other uses, see Red (disambiguation). ...

Pawnbrokers

Yet another theory is that the traditional sign outside a pawnbroker's shop, three brass spheres suspended from a gantry, was known in some parts as a "brass monkey" and the expression refers to these, very exposed, "balls".^{[citation needed]} This article is about the occupation of a pawnbroker. ...

Other references to brass monkeys

Radio

In the propagandist early radio show "I was a Communist for the FBI" "a brass monkey" is used as a variant of the phrase "a monkey on one's back". In the episode on Wednesday 8 April 1953, episode #51, entitled "The Brass Monkey", it referred to a convict with a "brass monkey", meaning a conviction. April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Pub name

"The Brass Monkey" is a popular name for pubs in Australia, the United States, Ireland (such as the Brass Monkey in Newry, Co. Down), and the United Kingdom.

References

• Michael Quinion. Brass Monkey weather. World Wide Words. Retrieved on July 21, 2005.
• Brass Monkeyshines. Urban Legends Reference Pages. Retrieved on July 21, 2005. itself citing
  • Beavis, Bill (1994). Salty Dog Talk: The Nautical Origins of Everyday Expressions. New York: Sheridan House. ISBN 0-924486-82-1. 
  • Isil, Olivia A. (1996). When a Loose Cannon Flogs a Dead Horse, There's the Devil to Pay. Camden, ME: International Marine. ISBN 0-07-032877-3.  Pages 23-24
  • King, Dean (1995). A Sea of Words. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN 0-8050-3816-7. 
  • Lighter, J.E. (1997). Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-43464-X. 
  • (1993) The Compact Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-861258-3. 
• Brass Monkeys. The Phrase Finder. Retrieved on July 21, 2005. itself citing
  • Cassidy, Frederick G. and Joan Houston Hall eds. (1996). Dictionary of American Regional English. vol.3. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.  page 642
  • Wilfred Granville (1962). A Dictionary of Sailors' Slang. London: Andre Deutch.  page 77
  • Peter Kemp ed. (1976). Oxford Companion to Ships & the Sea. New York: Oxford University; Press.  page 556
  • (1933) The Oxford English Dictionary.. New York: Oxford University Press. 
  • J.E. Lighter, as cited by Snopes
  • Eric Partridge. A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English 8th ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.  page 917
  • Longridge, C. Nepean (1981). The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships. Annapolis MD: Naval Institute Press.  page 64
  • (1991) The Visual Dictionary of Ships and Sailing. New York: Dorling Kindersley.  page 17
  • Rogers, John (1984). Origins of Sea Terms. Mystic CT: Mystic Seaport Museum.  page 23
• What's the origin of the term "brass monkey"?. AskOxford: Ask the experts. Retrieved on July 21, 2005.