cold fish
A heartless individual; a person lacking empathy and emotion.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He is a cold fish and never shows any emotion.”
“My neighbor is a cold fish who never says hello back to me.”
“I tried to be friendly, but my new boss is such a cold fish that he barely looked at me.”
“You might find it hard to work for her because she is a cold fish who never praises anyone for their hard work.”
“Even though the movie was incredibly sad, he sat there like a cold fish and did not react at all.”
“I broke up with him because he acted like a cold fish whenever I needed emotional support during a difficult week at my job.”
“Despite his reputation as a brilliant strategist, his colleagues often found him to be a cold fish who remained entirely indifferent to their personal struggles.”
first recorded 17th c.
Coined by William Shakespeare in 1611, the term appears in his play *The Winter's Tale* as a description of a woman's temperament. The playwright’s use of the phrase established the specific comparison between a lack of human warmth and the temperature of a fish, though the social inconvenience of such a personality has since outlived the context of the scene.
- 01
a cold day in July
The time of occurrence of an event that will never happen.
- 02
big fish
An important person.
- 03
big fish in a small pond
One who has achieved a high rank or is highly esteemed, but only in a small, relatively unimportant, or little known location or organization.
- 04
bigger fish to fry
A much more pressing issue to attend to.
- 05
blow hot and cold
To behave inconsistently; to vacillate or to waver, as between extremes of opinion or emotion.
- 06
catch a cold
To contract a cold.
- 07
cold cash
Money, regarded as an incentive that can override any doubts or ethical concerns.
- 08
cold chills
Feelings of fear.
Last updated August 10, 2026