On 9/6/05 7:27 AM, Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote:
"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...

Without the spike parts I'd be tempted to say they had something to do
with some very cold weather and two different size metallic monkeys. :-)



OK! You've done it now!

I know this trivia (being in the explosives industry), but most don't.

WHAT does it mean to "freeze the balls off a brass monkey"?

This sort of fits into the "What is it? LXXVII" series.

LLoyd


OK...here's my take on the expression (but I may be wrong....lol).

I grew up in the UK and at one time it was very common to see 'brass
monkeys' sitting either on the mantelpieces above a fireplace or in the
hearth depending on the size. I have seen them range in size from solid
brass ones at about 1" tall to hollow brass ones about 12" tall and they
are always cast as a single piece.

In every example I saw the monkeys are sitting on their haunches, knees
up, and are either sitting in a straight line or in a slight curve. Each
of the monkeys has his hands in a classic pose and they are named
according to that pose. One will have his hands over his eyes and is
known as 'See No Evil', the second will have his hands over his ears and
is known as 'Hear No Evil' while the third has his hands over his mouth
and is known as 'Speak No Evil'. It is my belief that they date
originally from the pre-Victorian era (possibly of Japanese origin)and
represent a lesson in morality i.e. a person of decent morals will
neither see no evil, hear no evil nor speak no evil.

Now, it is very common in the UK for a well known phrase, expression or
myth to become plagiarized and develop a whole new meaning. It is quite
possible that this has happened in this case. If you consider the
sitting positions of the monkeys their testicles would have been in
contact with, or very close to, the ground (if they were sitting outside
on the ground of course). In very cold weather that would have left them
frozen (possibly to the ground)and if the monkeys were to stand up they
could have left their testicles behind. Hence the phrase 'Cold enough to
freeze the balls off a brass monkey'.

Some examples of the monkeys can be found in the links below (some of
which also point to a Japanese origin).

http://www.aogiftshop.com/images/31164.jpg
http://tinyurl.com/bs4ey
www.oldcopper.org/three_wise_monkeys.htm

--
Larry Green