Why do we say "Cool As A Cucumber"?

Well-Known Expressions

Cool As A Cucumber

Meaning:

To be serene and unflappable

Background:

Cucumbers are a popular summer ingredient and have the image of being cool/fresh to eat and therefore an antidote to the heat. Thus the simile has come to symbolize coldness or aloofness.

An early reference comes from Cupid's Revenge by Fletcher and Beaumont (1615) who wrote "young maids were as cold as Cowcumbers".

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