come in from the cold

Idioms and Phrases

Also, come in out of the cold . Return to shelter and safety, be welcomed into a group. For example, Bill was fed up with traveling on his own for the company and hoped they'd let him come in from the cold , or After years of not being invited to join, Steve was finally asked to come in out of the cold . This phrase, generally used figuratively, gained currency in the 1960s with John LeCarré's best-selling spy novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold , about a long-time British spy in the cold war who longed to abandon the dirty tricks of his profession. Also see come in out of the rain .