Brass Monkeys

[badpenny]

Heavy frost today ...

[coppinpr]

monkey1.jpg (29.74 KiB) Viewed 14546 times

despite a striking resemblance to both me and BP these are not brass monkeys in the context of cold weather

mnkey 2.jpg (18.54 KiB) Viewed 14546 times

This! is a brass monkey (although on ships they were usually round not square)
and this is the explanation
"Cannon balls were piled on the deck beside the cannon in a pyramid and held in a 'brass monkey' or ring so they didn't fall over. If the weather was very cold the brass ring would contract faster than the iron cannon balls causing some of them to topple."

[john t peterson]

I thought the phrase was: "Freeze your b***s off," not on?

J Peterson
1 degree F in Tennessee

[badpenny]

.... mine were tactically removed by wife number two in the 90s.
BP

[coppinpr]

Freeze your b***s off," not on?

it is off, the copper contracted toppling the cannon balls off the monkey