# cold fish

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/cold-fish
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A heartless individual; a person lacking empathy and emotion.

## Examples

- 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.

## Origin

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.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.