By Daniel, ESL Educator & Idiom Series Author
Today, cold feet makes most English speakers think of weddings: a nervous bride or groom wondering whether to walk down the aisle. But some of the earliest examples researchers have found aren’t about love at all. They’re about poker.
Quick answer: To get cold feet means to suddenly feel too nervous or doubtful to do something you planned or promised to do.
What we know (and what we don’t)
The honest summary is that no one knows exactly why “cold feet” came to mean losing your courage. Gary Martin of The Phrase Finder says plainly that the reason it was coined “isn’t at all clear.” But there are some useful clues.
- Stephen Crane, 1896. The American writer added the phrase to a revised edition of his novel Maggie: A Girl of the Streets: “I knew this was the way it would be. They got cold feet.” He is often credited with making it popular.
- Card games. Mental Floss describes an 1895 newspaper column about a poker player who planned to quit the game if his losses grew too large. It also mentions a German novel by Fritz Reuter, published in 1862, in which a gambler leaves a card game after getting cold feet.
- An older Italian saying? Some writers point to Ben Jonson’s 1605 play Volpone, which mentions a proverb from Lombardy, in northern Italy, about being “cold on my feet,” describing someone with no money for shoes. It may be an ancestor, but it isn’t the same idiom, and the link isn’t proven.
One theory you can probably ignore says the phrase comes from soldiers with frozen feet who couldn’t fight. As Mental Floss notes, the story usually points to World War II, but the expression was in use decades earlier.
How the phrase moved from card tables to wedding chapels isn’t documented either. It simply became the most famous situation for it.
The timing is everything
Here’s what makes cold feet different from simple fear. You only get cold feet about something you already decided or agreed to do. First you say yes. Then, as the day gets closer, you start to doubt.
- A person who never wanted to go skydiving isn’t getting cold feet. They’re just not interested.
- A person who booked the jump, paid for it and then panics on the plane? That’s cold feet.
This is also why the phrase fits weddings, house purchases, new jobs and big business deals so well. They’re all commitments that someone has already made.
And notice the tone. Cold feet is often seen as normal and temporary. Friends say, “Don’t worry, it’s just cold feet,” meaning the person will probably calm down. But if someone actually cancels, we might say they “got cold feet and backed out.”
Learner mistakes to avoid
❌ “He has a cold foot about the new job.”
✅ “He has cold feet about the new job.” (Always plural: feet.)
❌ “Her feet got cold before the interview.”
✅ “She got cold feet before the interview.” (The person is the subject, not the feet.)
And one to watch out for: “I have cold feet. Can I borrow some socks?” is perfectly correct, but it’s literal! Context tells listeners which meaning you want.
Useful patterns
- get cold feet (the change): “She got cold feet the night before.”
- have cold feet (the state): “I think he has cold feet.”
- cold feet about / over something: “cold feet about moving abroad”
A phone call
Elena: You sound strange. Is everything okay?
Omar: We sign the contract for the apartment tomorrow, and suddenly I’m not sure.
Elena: Sounds like cold feet. You loved that place last week.
Omar: I still do. It’s just a big decision.
Similar, but not the same
- have second thoughts: start to doubt a decision. Calmer and more thoughtful than cold feet.
- chicken out: decide not to do something because you’re scared. More informal, and a little critical.
- back out: withdraw from something you agreed to. Describes the action, not the feeling.
Check yourself
Is this an example of cold feet? Answer yes or no.
- Sam agreed to sing at his sister’s wedding, but now he wants to cancel.
- Nina has never liked roller coasters and doesn’t want to ride one.
Answers: 1. Yes. He already said yes and is now losing his nerve. 2. No. She never planned to ride, so nothing has changed.
A Note from Daniel
What I appreciate most about this idiom is that it doesn’t judge anyone for getting cold feet. It just describes what happened: an abrupt chill that shows up at the worst time, making it feel impossible to move forward. Almost everyone has felt this at least once. The things we plan with confidence from afar can seem very different when we get close. That isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s just how things feel when they become real. If you have a story about a time you got cold feet and what happened next, I’d truly love to hear it.
Sources
- Martin, G. “Cold feet.” The Phrase Finder. phrases.org.uk
- “Why Do We Say People Get ‘Cold Feet’ Before a Wedding?” Mental Floss. mentalfloss.com
- “Cold feet.” Wikipedia. wikipedia.org
- Cambridge Dictionary, entry: “get cold feet.”
Every word carries a story. Stay curious. — Daniel