Stone's


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A stone's throw
Meaning
A short distance.
Origin
As far as a stone can be thrown.
 
As cold as stone
Origin
From Shakespeare's Henry V.
Hostess:
Nay, sure, he's not in hell: he's in Arthur's
bosom, if ever man went to Arthur's bosom. A' made
a finer end and went away an it had been any
christom child; a' parted even just between twelve
and one, even at the turning o' the tide: for after
I saw him fumble with the sheets and play with
flowers and smile upon his fingers' ends, I knew
there was but one way; for his nose was as sharp as
a pen, and a' babbled of green fields. 'How now,
sir John!' quoth I 'what, man! be o' good
cheer.' So a' cried out 'God, God, God!' three or
four times. Now I, to comfort him, bid him a'
should not think of God; I hoped there was no need
to trouble himself with any such thoughts yet. So
a' bade me lay more clothes on his feet: I put my
hand into the bed and felt them, and they were as
cold as any stone; then I felt to his knees, and
they were as cold as any stone, and so upward and
upward, and all was as cold as any stone.
Shakespeare used various 'as cold as' similes, including 'as cold as a
snowball' and 'as cold as if I had swallowed snowballs'.

 
This precious stone set in the silver sea, this sceptered isle
Origin
From Shakespeare's Richard II.
 
To cast the first stone
Origin
From the Bible. John 8:7. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

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