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Phrase: Put (something) on ice
OK, ladies and gents, here we are. It’s the third day of December 2020, and what a year it has been.
Because this is the last month of the year and the weather has finally decided to turn cold, my posts will have a winter theme before they switch to becoming more Christmas-related for the next week or two.
Now, back to today’s post.
Many people have had to rethink most of their plans and put them on ice this year.
Social distancing and greatly restricted or non-existent international travel have forced people to change the way they live.
I suppose it’s not all bad; a change is as good as a rest, as they say.
To put something on ice means to delay something.
It doesn’t mean anything is cancelled.
It just means things are delayed for one reason or another.
This year has been one of upheaval when it comes to plans.
Everything from weddings to vacations has been put on ice.
It’s almost as if the world has entered a state of stasis. Little is moving, and nothing is happening.
As a result, the industries that support those activities have been suffering.
In the old days, before refrigerators, there were iceboxes.
Ice would be cut from rivers or ponds in the winter, stored and used during the winter months to help preserve food by keeping it cool in these iceboxes.
Things were literally put on ice back then.
Luckily, modern technology has enabled society to rid itself of the hassle of cutting, storing and delivering ice to every household with an icebox.
However, the phrase has managed to outlast its origins, and that’s why when things are delayed, we often say they are put on ice.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 73.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.