cold feet
noun Informal.
a loss or lack of courage or confidence; an onset of uncertainty or fear: She got cold feet when asked to sing a solo.
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cold cut, cold cuts, cold deck, cold drink, cold duck, cold feet, cold feet, get, cold fish, cold frame, cold front, cold fusion
Origin of cold feet
First recorded in 1890–95
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for cold feet
cold feet
pl n
informal loss or lack of courage or confidence
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for cold feet
cold feet
1893, American English; the presumed Italian original (avegh minga frecc i pee) is a Lombard proverb meaning "to have no money," but some of the earliest English usages refer to gamblers, so a connection is possible.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Culture definitions for cold feet
cold feet
To “have cold feet” is to be too fearful to undertake or complete an action: “The backup quarterback was called into the game, but he got cold feet and refused to go in.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.