Where does the expression “brass monkeys” come from?!?
An old naval term,,cannon balls made of iron were kept in place by a brass contraption called a monkey,,when the temperature dropped the brass would contract and the cannon balls would roll off,,hence “Cold enough to freeze the balls off of a brass monkey”,,the young lads who were employed to carry the gunpowder aroung from gun to gun were called Powder monkeys,,, Skylarking is another naval term ,,coming from the young men on the ship when not working would have a game of tag in the rigging,,this was called “Skylarking”
