Cold: She Felt the Cold Hard Reality of Life

(MUSIC)

cold.

cold-blooded.  Cold-blooded people act in cruel ways. They may do brutal things to others, and not by accident.

cold-blooded killer.  The killer murdered someone, not in self-defense, or because he was reacting to anger or fear.  He seemed to kill for no reason, and with no emotion, as if taking someone's life meant nothing.

to get cold feet -- that has nothing to do with cold or your feet.

Cold can also affect your shoulder.

cold shoulder when you refuse to speak to them. You treat them in a distant, cold way.  The expression probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone, instead of speaking to him face-to-face.  You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you.  Or, to someone who has lied about you to others.

cold fish is not a fish.  It is a person.  But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth.  A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone.

cold-hearted.  A cold-hearted person is someone who has no sympathy.  Several popular songs in recent years were about cold-hearted men or cold-hearted women who, without feeling, broke the hearts of their lovers.

Out in the cold is an expression often heard.  It means not getting something that everybody else got.  A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise, that he was left out in the cold.  And it is not a pleasant place to be.

This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Marilyn Rice Christiano.  Maurice Joyce was the narrator.  I'm Shirley Griffith.