sausage said...cisco said...BulldogPup said...
Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey
That one can't be called an Australian saying as it refers to cannon balls stacked in a pyramid shape on the deck of an old time war ship.
They were held in place by a brass frame which was known as a monkey which in very cold weather would shrink enough for the balls to fall off.
Just thought you all would like to know that.
Not true Cisco a la cut & paste below;
It is often stated that the phrase originated from the use of a brass tray, called a "monkey", to hold cannonballs on warships in the 16th to 18th centuries. Supposedly, in very cold temperatures the "monkey" would contract, causing the balls to fall off. However, nearly all historians and etymologists consider this story to be an urban legend. This story has been discredited by the U.S. Department of the Navy, etymologist Michael Quinion, and the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).
OK. So where DID the saying originate from??
From a Wikipedia search it is established that sailing warships of old did carry cast iron cannon balls upon a tray of brass known as a "brass monkey".
Why brass? It did not leave rust stains like iron. Why monkey? In reference to the boys who fetched the powder known as powder monkeys.
The coefficients of linear expansion and contraction of brass and iron are 19 and 10.8 respectively.
Accurately cast cannon balls and "brass monkeys" would have been made in a foundry or blacksmith's shop in which the ambient temperature would be 50-60 degrees C.
The cannon balls and "brass monkey" then taken aboard a ship to the north Atlantic where the temperature might be -30 degrees C (freezing temps), it is fairly reasonable to expect with the added inducement of low friction ice and the rolling of the ship in a seaway that:-
"It is cold enough to freeze the balls of a brass monkey."
My contention is that it is not an "Aussie Saying". If you can find a reference to it in some old Australian folk lore, I am interested to hear it.
It is a nautical saying.
This is "on topic" as the thread title is "Aussie Sayings - whats your fav Aussie Saying".
Here are a couple of other nautical sayings that are commonly used in Australia. I will give you ten points if you can correctly explain the origins of the sayings. Internet searching is OK.
"Who let the cat out of the bag?"
"He is swinging the lead."
