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in cold blood
in cold blood
Fig. without feeling; with cruel intent. (Frequently said of a crime, especially murder.) The killer walked up and shot the woman in cold blood. How insulting! For a person to say something like that in cold blood is just horrible.
in cold blood
intentionally and without emotion
The jury must now decide if the two men are guilty of killing their parents in cold blood. Usage notes: most often used with the verbs kill, murder, and shoot
Etymology: based the figurative meanings of cold ( lacking in feeling) and blood ( emotion)
in cold blood
if you do something, especially kill someone, in cold blood, you do it in a way which is cruel because you plan it and do it without emotion Four men were charged with the killing, in cold blood, of a French tourist last summer. An unarmed boy was shot in cold blood outside his home yesterday.
in cold blood
In a purposely ruthless and unfeeling manner, as in The whole family was murdered in cold blood. This expression alludes to the notion that blood is the seat of emotion and is hot in passion and cold in calm. The term therefore means not "in the heat of passion," but "in a calculated, deliberate manner." [Late 1500s]
in cold blood
mod. without feeling; with cruel intent. Rocko kills in cold blood and never gives it a thought.
in cold blood
Deliberately, coldly, and dispassionately.