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In cold blood

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

An idiomatic phrase describing deliberate cruelty, premeditated harm, or emotionless violence; temperature metaphor used in poetry to convey calculated malice, detached brutality, or moral chill through thermal absence imagery emphasizing inhumanity.

Detailed Definition
In cold blood means deliberately, calmly, and without pity, especially when describing violence or cruelty. In poetry, the idiom is powerful because it links moral horror with bodily temperature: the absence of heat suggests absence of compassion. It can appear in murder ballads, war poetry, political protest, or poems about betrayal and injustice. The phrase distinguishes calculated harm from impulsive anger. Poets may use it to explore evil, responsibility, emotional deadness, and the frightening composure of deliberate action.
Example
Example in poetry:
A tragic ballad might say the assassin struck in cold blood beneath the chapel bell; In a moral poem, cruelty done in cold blood appears more chilling than rage; The phrase in cold blood means deliberately and without pity; A poet can use it to make guilt feel stark and terrible.
Additional Notes
In cold blood means deliberately, without pity, passion, or immediate provocation, especially in relation to violence. The temperature metaphor suggests emotional chill and moral horror. In poetry, it can intensify murder ballads, war poems, political protest, or psychological monologue. Students should notice the contrast with hot-blooded action: cold blood implies calculation. It may also connect with frost, knives, stone, and the absence of human warmth.
Also Known As
deliberately cruel
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