in cold storage

Idioms  

1. In a state of abeyance or postponement. For example, We can't consider these design changes now; let's put them in cold storage for a year or so. This expression alludes to the literal storage of food, furs, or other objects in a refrigerated place. [Colloquial; late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

Henry Pearlman was born in Brooklyn in 1895 and made his fortune in cold storage and refrigeration.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 4, 2025

The researchers also simulated a potential mitigation, placing honey bee hive boxes in cold storage so the bees start to cluster earlier and save workers.

From Science Daily • Mar. 25, 2024

The plaintiffs are former patients at the clinic who had become parents through successful implantation of other embryos they had helped to create, but who had opted to leave the remaining ones in cold storage.

From Slate • Feb. 21, 2024

Unlike apples and pears, which can be stored in cold storage after harvest, cherries cannot and must go straight to market, DeVaney said.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 18, 2024

You couldn’t knock down the skyscrapers when the tenants left; so instead boards went over the windows and doors, and the great shells of commerce were put in cold storage.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides