{"id":2835,"date":"2022-04-15T18:46:19","date_gmt":"2022-04-15T18:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=2835"},"modified":"2022-04-15T18:46:19","modified_gmt":"2022-04-15T18:46:19","slug":"cold-feet-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/cold-feet-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Cold Feet - Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you feeling nervous in the days leading up to your wedding? Maybe you\u2019re suddenly feeling hesitant about a business deal? You could say you\u2019re getting \u201ccold feet<\/em>\u201d with the situation. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n

Meaning<\/h2>\n

The expression \u201ccold feet<\/em>\u201d means that you are having second thoughts about something. You might be feeling uneasy at signing a contract and ready to pull out of the deal. Or, you might be having second thoughts about walking down the aisle at your wedding.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a way of telling someone they are afraid or uncertain about something they are about to do. For instance, you could get cold feet before you bungee jump, or you could get cold feet about committing to attending an event.<\/p>\n

Example Usage<\/h2>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if the wedding will happen this weekend. From what I hear, the bride has cold feet, and her friends say she\u2019s ready to pull a runner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why you\u2019re getting cold feet with this deal. We\u2019ve been over the due diligence a hundred times, and it\u2019s airtight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a time for him to get cold feet. He reaches the top of the slide, and now everyone\u2019s waiting while he tries to man up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m starting to get cold feet on this whole timeshare deal; it seems like a bit of a con job if you ask me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t get cold feet and panic sell now, Rob; we\u2019ve been stacking crypto for years, and the market will turn around.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Origin<\/h2>\n

Ben Jonson gets the credit for creating the origin of this expression, where it appears in his 1605 play \u201cVolpone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me tell you: I am not, as your Lombard proverb saith, cold on my feet; or content to part with my commodities at a cheaper rate than I am accustomed.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this context, the saying means to be broke or to have no money.<\/p>\n

The earliest use of \u201ccold feet\u201d in the current meaning and context of the saying comes from poet and writer Stephen Crane. \u201cMaggie: A Girl of the Streets,\u201d published in 1896, has the saying as the following.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew this was the way it would be. They got cold feet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The phrase spread to college campuses throughout the US in the early 1900s, and people would use the expression \u201ccold-footer\u201d to describe men that were afraid to go to war in WWI. Another possible military origin of the saying comes from soldiers who endured frostbite in the war, making them unable to go into battle.<\/p>\n

In 1912, J. F. L. Raschen translated a novel by Fritz Reuter published in 1862, where the phrase appears to have an origin in gambling. A winning card player who thinks he is starting to test his luck will leave the card table with \u201ccold feet.\u201d<\/p>\n