deep-freeze

[deep-freez]

verb (used with object), deep-freezed or deep-froze, deep-freezed or deep-fro·zen, deep-freez·ing.

Origin of deep-freeze

An Americanism dating back to 1945–50; deep + freeze

noun

a state or period of halted or suspended activity or progress: High interest rates created a deep freeze in housing construction.
suspended animation.

Idioms

put in/into the deep freeze, Informal. to stop or suspend the activity or progress of: A series of quarrels put their romance into the deep freeze.

An Americanism dating back to 1940–45

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

It would seem Bennett has decided to defrost a security perspective that went into deep-freeze in the 1970s.
Naftali Bennett's Security Strategy is Frozen in the 1970s
Gen.(res.) Nati Sharoni
November 18, 2013

She put her parcel on a deep-freeze unit and pulled off its paper covering.
Creatures of the Abyss
Murray Leinster
The job number called for a deep-freeze showcase, and there were exactly two hundred and seven detail drawings involved.
Felony
James Causey

Word Origin and History for deep-freeze

registered trademark (U.S. Patent Office, 1941) of a type of refrigerator; used generically for "cold storage" since 1949.