cold as stone —(also: cold as a stone)
1. very cold to the touch:
- Laura reached for Paul’s hand but when she laced her fingers in his, Paul’s hand was cold as stone.
2. (of a person) not much moved by emotions:
- He was all sweet and kind to me but I remained cold as a stone! “You take pleasure in tormenting me,” he said…
Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase cold as a wagon tire—(U.S. dated sl.) dead:
- The first time she saw a man lying cold as a wagon tire wasn’t the day she first stepped into battle, which was a good thing.
stone cold—
1. said of cold tea, coffee, etc. that is expected to be warm:
- He used to talk so much that his food was usually stone cold before he finished it.
2. = cold as stone 1:
- The only observation I was left to ponder was how I could sweat so profusely while my hands were stone cold.