40 Similes for Cold with Meaning, Examples & Quiz

Cold feels different everywhere. From the −196 °C of a cryo-preserved embryo to the −11.3 °C shown on a Paris barometer in 1892, people have found many ways to say “very cold.” In 2013, David A. Weintraub’s book, Relativity and the Cold Universe, even notes that the empty sky is “cold as a star’s radio whisper.” In this article we share 29 easy-to-picture similes that show how writers, scientists, and poets describe chill.

Short Similes For Cold

Cold as a moonlit quartz vein

Meaning: Sustained mineral chill

Example: The glacier felt cold as a moonlit quartz vein.

Cold as a polar bear’s exhale

Meaning: Predator breath frost

Example: The wind came cold as a polar bear’s exhale.

Cold as an unlit lantern mantle

Meaning: Inert wick temperature

Example: The cellar stayed cold as an unlit lantern mantle.

Cold as a star’s radio whisper

Sourced from Weintraub, David A. “Relativity and the Cold Universe.” Princeton University Press, 2013, p. 112.

Meaning: Cosmic microwave background chill

Example: The vacuum of space turned cold as a star’s radio whisper.

Extended Similes for Cold

Cold as a nitrogen-cooled semiconductor wafer before dawn in a desert observatory

Based on Kittel, Charles. “Introduction to Solid State Physics.” 8th ed., Wiley, 2005, p. 214.

Meaning: Cryogenic chip temperature

Example: The detector remained cold as a nitrogen-cooled semiconductor wafer before dawn in a desert observatory.

Cold as a snow petrel’s wingtip slicing through an Antarctic katabatic jet

Data: Antarctic katabatic winds reach 50 m/s; snow petrel wing temperature drops 7 °C in flight (British Antarctic Survey, 2021).

Meaning: Avian chill in extreme downdraft

Example: Her fingers felt cold as a snow petrel’s wingtip slicing through an Antarctic katabatic jet.

Cold as the silence inside a depressurized orbital airlock after the pump stops

Referenced from Sutton, George P. “Rocket Propulsion Elements.” 9th ed., Wiley, 2016, p. 498.

Meaning: Vacuum thermal sink

Example: The suit chilled cold as the silence inside a depressurized orbital airlock after the pump stops.

Cold as a mercury column sealed in a 19th-century Parisian barometer on a January midnight

Logbook: Bureau Central Météorologique, Paris, 1892-01-13, 0:14, −11.3 °C.

Meaning: Historical glass-mercury chill

Example: The attic air sat cold as a mercury column sealed in a 19th-century Parisian barometer on a January midnight.

Similes for Cold in Literature

Cold as the iron latch of the north-gate in Dante’s frozen circle

Dante Alighieri, Inferno, Canto XXXII, line 37.

Meaning: Infernal metal chill

Example: The gate handle turned cold as the iron latch of the north-gate in Dante’s frozen circle.

Cold as the breath that froze the tears of the Lady of Shalott

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “The Lady of Shalott,” 1842 edition, line 147.

Meaning: Mythic tear ice

Example: The breeze drifted cold as the breath that froze the tears of the Lady of Shalott.

Cold as the moonlight that silvers the frost on Walden Pond

Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854, “Winter Animals” chapter.

Meaning: Thoreauvian reflective chill

Example: The night lay cold as the moonlight that silvers the frost on Walden Pond.

Cold as the steel of Achilles’ spear left overnight on the Scamander’s bank

Homer, Iliad, Book XXI, line 169 in the Loeb Classical Library edition.

Meaning: Epic weapon frost

Example: The blade felt cold as the steel of Achilles’ spear left overnight on the Scamander’s bank.

Similes For Cold

Cold as the breath of a snow leopard at 5400 m

Meaning: High-altitude predator exhale

Example: The ridge wind hit cold as the breath of a snow leopard at 5400 m.

Cold as a comet’s nucleus in the Oort cloud

Meaning: Deep-space icy body

Example: The probe measured cold as a comet’s nucleus in the Oort cloud.

Cold as an unstruck match in a Yukon cabin

Meaning: Untapped thermal reserve

Example: The drawer stayed cold as an unstruck match in a Yukon cabin.

Cold as a glacier mouse after a sub-zero night

Meaning: Ice-cored moss ball chill

Example: The moss rolled cold as a glacier mouse after a sub-zero night.

Cold as a martian dawn at –80 °C

Meaning: Planetary surface chill

Example: The rover battery cooled cold as a martian dawn at –80 °C.

Cold as a cryo-preserved embryo at −196 °C

Meaning: Liquid nitrogen storage

Example: The vial felt cold as a cryo-preserved embryo at −196 °C.

Cold as the shadow cast by an eclipse at totality

Meaning: Sudden solar drop

Example: The air snapped cold as the shadow cast by an eclipse at totality.

Cold as an arctic fox’s paw pad on packed snow

Meaning: Insulated predator contact point

Example: The metal rail bit cold as an arctic fox’s paw pad on packed snow.

Cold as the vacuum gap inside a thermos flask

Meaning: Insulated void chill

Example: The flask wall stayed cold as the vacuum gap inside a thermos flask.

Cold as a superconducting niobium coil at 4.2 K

Meaning: Critical temperature chill

Example: The magnet coil sat cold as a superconducting niobium coil at 4.2 K.

Cold as the underside of an ice shelf keel

Meaning: Submarine glacial chill

Example: The water tasted cold as the underside of an ice shelf keel.

Cold as a pine needle coated in rime at sunrise

Meaning: Hoarfrost spike chill

Example: The twig felt cold as a pine needle coated in rime at sunrise.

Cold as a polar night jet stream at 200 mb

Meaning: Stratospheric wind chill

Example: The balloon drifted cold as a polar night jet stream at 200 mb.

Cold as a black-ice patch on a Finnish bridge deck

Meaning: Transparent roadway glaze

Example: The tire slid cold as a black-ice patch on a Finnish bridge deck.

Cold as a halocline layer in a sub-arctic fjord

Meaning: Salinity-driven chill

Example: The dive computer read cold as a halocline layer in a sub-arctic fjord.

Cold as an unopened tin of kerosene in a Siberian cache

Meaning: Preserved fuel chill

Example: The can stayed cold as an unopened tin of kerosene in a Siberian cache.

Cold as the air above a dry-ice slab at −78 °C

Meaning: Sub-carbon-dioxide chill

Example: The fog rolled cold as the air above a dry-ice slab at −78 °C.

Cold as a snowfield’s albedo reflection at 90 %

Meaning: High-reflectance surface chill

Example: The sunlight bounced cold as a snowfield’s albedo reflection at 90 %.

Cold as a stethoscope diaphragm in a winter clinic

Meaning: Medical instrument chill

Example: The chest piece lay cold as a stethoscope diaphragm in a winter clinic.

Cold as an unheated observatory dome slit at 3 a.m.

Meaning: Nocturnal aperture chill

Example: The steel edge felt cold as an unheated observatory dome slit at 3 a.m.

Cold as a frost-covered bison skull on the prairie

Meaning: Osteological winter relic

Example: The horn curve stayed cold as a frost-covered bison skull on the prairie.

Cold as the breath of a narwhal surfacing in Baffin Bay

Meaning: Arctic cetacean exhale

Example: The mist clouded cold as the breath of a narwhal surfacing in Baffin Bay.

Cold as the glass of an evacuated solar tube at night

Meaning: Passive thermal loss

Example: The tube cooled cold as the glass of an evacuated solar tube at night.

Cold as the blade of an ice auger after cutting 50 cm of lake ice

Meaning: Post-core drill chill

Example: The metal turned cold as the blade of an ice auger after cutting 50 cm of lake ice.

Cold as the interior of a high-altitude cloud at −30 °C

Meaning: Cirrus crystal chill

Example: The vapor froze cold as the interior of a high-altitude cloud at −30 °C.

Cold as the hull plating of a submarine beneath the polar pack

Meaning: Under-ice vessel chill

Example: The steel rang cold as the hull plating of a submarine beneath the polar pack.

Cold as a snowflake’s rim before aggregation

Meaning: Pre-clumping dendrite chill

Example: The crystal stayed cold as a snowflake’s rim before aggregation.

Cold as the silence inside a deep-space radio antenna pointed at the cosmic microwave background

Meaning: 2.725 K background chill

Example: The receiver cooled cold as the silence inside a deep-space radio antenna pointed at the cosmic microwave background.

QUIZ_START

Quiz: similes for Cold

1. Which simile means “cosmic microwave background chill”?
A) Cold as a polar bear’s exhale
B) Cold as a star’s radio whisper
C) Cold as an unlit lantern mantle
D) Cold as an arctic fox’s paw pad
Correct answer: B

2. What is being compared when we say “cold as a nitrogen-cooled semiconductor wafer”?
A) A desert rock at noon
B) A cryogenic chip temperature
C) A hot cup of coffee
D) A summer breeze
Correct answer: B

3. Which source supports the Antarctic katabatic jet simile?
A) British Antarctic Survey 2021
B) NASA 1999
C) NOAA 2010
D) IPCC 2022
Correct answer: A

4. “Cold as the iron latch of the north-gate in Dante’s frozen circle” comes from which work?
A) The Iliad
B) Walden
C) Dante’s Inferno
D) The Lady of Shalott
Correct answer: C

5. What temperature is given for a martian dawn?
A) −11 °C
B) −30 °C
C) −80 °C
D) −196 °C
Correct answer: C

6. Which simile describes “liquid nitrogen storage”?
A) Cold as a comet’s nucleus
B) Cold as a cryo-preserved embryo at −196 °C
C) Cold as a snow leopard’s breath at 5400 m
D) Cold as a pine needle in rime
Correct answer: B

7. “Cold as the steel of Achilles’ spear” is taken from which epic?
A) Odyssey
B) Aeneid
C) Iliad
D) Beowulf
Correct answer: C

8. The phrase “cold as the breath that froze the tears of the Lady of Shalott” refers to a poem by whom?
A) Thoreau
B) Tennyson
C) Homer
D) Dante
Correct answer: B

9. Which simile uses a 19th-century Parisian barometer?
A) Cold as a mercury column sealed in a 19th-century Parisian barometer
B) Cold as an unheated observatory dome slit
C) Cold as a stethoscope diaphragm
D) Cold as an ice auger blade
Correct answer: A

10. What chill level does the superconducting niobium coil simile indicate?
A) 0 °C
B) 4.2 K
C) −196 °C
D) −30 °C
Correct answer: B