stone cold meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

stone cold

adjalso spelled stone-cold

Etymology The literal sense reflects the archetype of stone: it is usually cold to the touch and often quite cold. The figurative senses emphasize the high degree of coldness or of certainty.

Idiomatic Very cold (literally); lacking any semblance of warmth.

Near-synonyms: ice-cold, cold as ice, icy, freezing cold, frigid, cold as a well-digger's arse; see also Thesaurus:cold
I forgot to turn on the burner under the soup and found it sitting there, still stone cold, twenty minutes later.

Idiomatic, Of persons or their behavior Lacking emotion or compassion.

a stone-cold demeanor
a stone-cold killer

Idiomatic Certain; definite; obvious.

a stone cold certainty
a stone cold guarantee

1 more example

"A hike on Thursday looks a stone cold certainty," Howard Archer, chief UK economist at Global Insight, said.2006 November 6, Philip Thornton, “Interest rate rise a 'stone-cold certainty' despite industry plea”, in The Independent:

Derived terms: stone-cold fox, the stones

stone cold

adv

Etymology The literal sense reflects the archetype of stone: it is usually cold to the touch and often quite cold. The figurative senses emphasize the high degree of coldness or of certainty.

Idiomatic, Usually Certainly; definitely; obviously.

It is stone cold guaranteed that that guy will get his clock cleaned if he shows up here today.

stone-cold

adj

Completely cold.

By the time I returned to my desk, my tea was stone-cold.

Without emotion.

He was a stone-cold killer: he didn't flinch as he took the shot.

Absolute; incomparable.

With an ace-high flush on an unpaired board, he had the stone-cold nuts.

Derived terms: stone-cold fox, stone-cold sober

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for stone cold and stone-cold.