Brass monkey (colloquial expression) The Brass Monkey of Stanthorpe, Queensland - the place known for its "brass monkey weather", complete with a set of balls The phrase "cold enough to freeze the balls off (or on) 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 20th-century variant on the expression, prefigured by a range of references to other body parts, especially the nose and tail. 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. :When you love, [...] your heart, hands, feet and flesh are as cold and senseless as the toes of a brass monkey in winter. They give five main reasons: The History of English Phonemes. The History of English in 10 Minutes. Anglo-Saxon Metrical Charms. Anglo-Saxon, or Old English, metrical charms were generally written to magically heal or fix a situation, disease, etc.
Usually, these charms give instructions involving some sort of physical action, including making a medical potion, repeating a certain set of words, or writing a specific set of words on an object. These Anglo-Saxon charms tell a great deal about medieval medical theory and practice. Although most medical texts found from the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon period are translations of Classical texts in Latin, these charms were originally written in Old English. Through these metrical charms, we can more easily understand the religious beliefs and practices that pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon England had; we can also see how the people of that time saw and understood sickness and health.  Today, some non-mainstream medical professionals do use herbal remedies, but these are still almost always based on some sort of scientific reason.
Æcerbot Against a Dwarf. Undley bracteate. Coordinates: The Undley bracteate is a 5th-century bracteate found in Undley Common, near Lakenheath, Suffolk.
It bears the earliest known inscription that can be argued to be in Anglo-Frisian Futhorc (as opposed to Common Germanic Elder Futhark). The image on the bracteate is an adaptation of an Urbs Roma coin type issued by Constantine the Great, conflating the helmeted head of the emperor and the image of Romulus and Remus suckled by the wolf on one face. With a diameter of 2.3 cm, it weighs 2.24 grams. It may have originated in northern Germany or southern Scandinavia, and been brought to England with an early Anglo-Saxon settler. The inscription reads right to left around the circumference of the obverse side, terminating at the image of the wolf: ᚷᚫᚷᚩᚷᚫ ᛗᚫᚷᚫ ᛗᛖᛞᚢ g͡æg͡og͡æ mægæ medu The o is the earliest known instance of the os rune ᚩ contrasting with the æsc rune ᚫ. The words mægæ medu are interpreted as meaning "meed for the kinsmen", i.e.
References J. External links Pseudo-anglicism. Online Etymology Dictionary. Atlas of True Names. Etymologically Speaking... From the old Arabic word "hashshshin," which meant, "someone who is addicted to hash," that is, marijuana.
Originally refered to a group of warriors who would smoke up before battle. Aaron White adds: You may want to explore the fact that the hashshshins were somewhat of a voodoo-ized grand conspiracy scapegoat cult (the very fact of their existence is impossible to confirm). They supposedly were a secret society (a la the FreeMasons) which was influential in every middle eastern court from Persia to Bangladesh. They were supposedly a brotherhood of assasins, devoted to their caballa and its secrecy, protected by an unlimited number of fanatical followers and unlimited material wealth. Assassination was their favorite method of instituting their power (see the Zoroastrian lore of the eunich priest Arachmenes and his assistance to Darius and Xerxes in their rise to/fall from power). R. Crimson worm rhapsody. AmericanEnglishDialects.gif (GIF Image, 2717x2342 pixels) - Scaled (26%)
Do You Speak American. Spambot?
Cybercat? Are we ruining the language? The experts weigh in. Exactly how many varieties are there of American English? No one knows for certain. Language expresses who we are, and who we want to be. Is TV making us sound alike? The Pop vs. Soda Page.