Add a note to the entry "break the ice". The Origin of “Break The Ice” Some may think that the phrase break the ice comes from steam-powered icebreaker ships that were designed in the 1800s. It is my dutie to begin I know, The figurative use is quite old and was recorded by Sir Thomas North in his 1579 translation of Plutarch's Lives of the noble Grecians and Romanes: "To be the first to break the Ice of the Enterprize.". To break down social formality and stiffness. All iudgements censure freely of my wrongs. This is the first time "break the ice" is used to describe a social gesture though. break the ice (third-person singular simple present breaks the ice, present participle breaking the ice, simple past broke the ice, past participle broken the ice) Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning: see break,‎ the,‎ ice. See where she doth attend your comming home. The figurative use is quite old and was recorded by Sir Thomas North in his 1579 translation of Plutarch's Lives of the noble Grecians and Romanes: "To be the first to break the Ice of the Enterprize." break through (third-person singular simple... break up (English) Copyright 2020 Ginger Software | Get Keyboard and check your text using a unique Contextual Grammar and Spell Checker. Origin & history That did not truth & vertue arme my thoughts. (The sense evolution of the French phrase rompre , or briser , la glace has been identical.) A figure derived from boatmen who send one of their number ahead to break up the ice on a frozen river and open the way for the others. There are no user-contributed notes for this entry. To break the ice (The sense evolution of the French phrase rompre, or briser, la glace has been identical.). Alternative spelling... break the news (English) In the epilogue to A briefe treatise of testaments and last willes very profitable to be vnderstoode of all the subiects of this realme of England (London, 1591), the English ecclesiastical lawyer Henry Swinburne (circa 1551-1624) used the phrase in the sense to prepare the way for others: The authour therefore in aduenturing to breake the yse to make the passage easie for his countrymen, failing sometimes of the fourd, and falling into the pit, may seeme worthie to be pitied. break: …fast break open break out break rank break someone's heart break stride break the ice break through break up break wind icebreaker make-or-break…, led: …ledový náledí pohybovat se na tenkém ledě prolomit ledy ("to break the ice") led (Danish) Pronunciation IPA: leð Rhymes: -eð Origin &…, ice: …iceways icicle icy sea-ice water-ice Related words & phrases break the ice cold as ice cut no ice ice age ice ax ice axe ice bag ice…, icebreaker: …as an icebreaker, they were laughing like old friends. The idiom is sometimes used to describe efforts by one or both parties on a first date to initiate a conversation that helps to calm some of the nervous jitters that one or both feel early in the evening. Scindere glaciem est aperire viam et in incipiundo negocio priorem esse. translation (from The Adages of Erasmus, selected by William Barker – University of Toronto Press, 2001): Note: If you are finished reading about this phrase, you can use the menu at the top to find hundreds more. Anything in violation of these guidelines will be removed immediately. Such frownes, such chidings, such impatience, Of course that use was really old school by the time ol' Shakey penned this play. There are verie fewe that can saye they have cleane escaped without feeling some part of the smart, so this reverend father tasted plentifully thereof, whom it chanced in the verie beginninge to be one of the first that brake the yse, and to open and shewe the inconvenient that followed therby: no doubt to his immortall fame and glorie, and no lesse to the reproach and ignominie of all such as were his persecutors, as by the sequell of this historie shall well appeare. Related words & phrases break the ice Translations icebreaker - ship designed to break through ice Arabic:…, քայլ: …mile    առնուլ Õ¦Õ¡Õ¼Õ¡Õ»Õ«Õ¶ քայլ – to take the first step, to break the ice    քայլս փոխել – to step, to walk   …, Cite this page: "break the ice" in WordSense.eu Online Dictionary (2nd November, 2020). To surmount initial difficulties; to overcome obstacles and make a beginning. The phrase to break the ice originally meant to make a beginning in an undertaking or enterprise, especially in the face of difficulty or resistance. Webster's Dictionary, WordNet and others. break the ice (English)Origin & history By application of the metaphor that strangers are socially separated by ice‎. Scindere glaciem est aperire viam et in incipiundo negocio priorem esse. – Maister Lusam: O you mistake her euen vpon my soule, To break the ice would be to allow boats to pass, marking the beginning of the season's activity after the winter freeze. * The sense evolution of to break the ice is therefore comparable to that of to break ground, which means, literally, to do preparatory digging or other work prior to building or planting something, hence, figuratively, to do something innovative and beneficial. Paul had to give a speech in front of a large crowd. As the name suggests, these ships can navigate through ice-covered waters (depicted in the picture above), which can be quite challenging. break the mold (English) And fearing I would come to dine with her. Thank you, Sax. These ships make it easier for people to sail in the arctic regions of the world. Learn more, including how we use cookies and how you can change your settings. Had I deseru’d the least bad looke from him. And euen that sildome with such discontent. Origin of Break the Ice This idiom most likely developed from the practice of boats at sea breaking the ice in a body of water in order to pass through it and clear a path for other boats to also travel through. – Young Arthur: No not I, will you go in sir? Had I deseru’d the least bad looke from him, Relax a tense or very formal situation, as in Someone at the conference table will have to break the ice.

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