I learned this today...<br /><br />The phrase "Cold enough to freeze the bells off a brass monkey" is an old sailing ship term.<br />Back during the days of the "Tall Ships" the wooden ships with sail before the advent of steam and diesel engines. A big brass ring was nailed to the decks of the ships to store the cannon balls in. The cannon balls were stacked in pyramids inside the brass ring to stop them from rolling around the decks as the ships pitched and yawled. The brass ring was called a brass monkey. As you know as steel and brass freezes it becomes slippery as all he11. Then the added spray of the water froze everything as well.. Once it got cold enough the balls would become so slippery that they would slide right off the brass ring or monkey hence the phrase " Cold enough to freeze the bells off a brass monkey."<br /><br />Well, seeing it isn't true, I'll edit it for the kiddos 
