cold storage n.1
1. death; thus also a grave or cemetery.
(con. WWI) Gloss. of Sl. [...] in the A.I.F. 1921–1924 (rev. t/s) n.p.: cold storage. ‘To go into cold storage’ – to be killed during the 1916 winter. | ||
Wise-crack Dict. 15/2: Wooden kimona – Case for cold storage. | ||
AS XI:3 198: Placed in cold storage. | ‘American Euphemisms for Dying’ in||
, | DAS. | |
Dict. of Invective (1991) 92: cold storage. A grave or cemetery. |
2. a prison.
Und. Speaks 24/1: Cold storage, held in jail by police on no specific charge. | ||
Criminal Sl. (rev. edn) 55: cold storage Solitary confinement. | ||
(con. 1940s–60s) Straight from the Fridge Dad. |
3. (US) a state of temporary clandestine residence, in order to avoid identification, capture.
‘Return Engagement’ in Best of Manhunt (2019) [ebook] ‘Blesch take care of the old guy I sent over for cold storage?’. |