cold fish

English

Etymology

Coined by William Shakespeare in 1611 in The Winter's Tale, act 4, scene 4:

a cold fish for she would not exchange flesh with / one that loved her

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Noun

cold fish (plural cold fish or cold fishes)

1. (idiomatic) A heartless individual; a person lacking empathy and emotion.
   • 1610, William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale, act 4, scene 4:

     [I]t was thought she was a woman and was turned into a cold fish for she would not exchange flesh with one that loved her.

   • 1993, Lisanne Norman, Turning Point:

     He wouldn't have thought her such a cold fish. Pity. Still, there was plenty of time. Perhaps when she got used to his company she would thaw a little.

   • 2003, Robert Wilson, The Blind Man of Seville‎^[1], →ISBN, page 13:

     You're a cold fish. You have no heart.

   Synonyms: wet blanket; see also Thesaurus:spoilsport

2. (slang) A sexual partner who, during sex, lacks vigor or emotional reciprocity.

   Ah, don't be such a cold fish!

   Synonyms: dead fish, starfish

Translations

heartless individual

• Czech: suchar (cs) m
• Dutch: koude kikker (nl)
• French: pissefroid (fr) m or f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Griesgram (de) m
• Japanese: 朴念仁 (ja) (bokunenjin)
• Polish: zimna ryba f

unvigorous sexual partner — see dead fish