It’s Colder Than a Witch’s Tit in a Brass Bra — BTW, What Does That Even Mean?

A huge blast of Arctic air has hit the Mid Columbia and has many saying, "it's colder than a witches tit in a brass bra".   Just what does than mean exactly?

According to Yahoo Answers this is one meaning -  In the age of sail, on the cannon deck of a warship, next to each cannon, cannonballs were piled up at the ready, in a pyramid, which the sailors called a witches tit. It was built on a brass plate with holes cut in to hold the cannonballs from rolling off as the ship listed, rolled and pitched. The sailors called the plate a brass bra. Because brass expands and contracts with temperature at a greater rate than iron, rare extreme cold on the cannon deck would cause the brass plate to shrink to the point that the cannonballs would be released from the pyramid and roll over the deck. “Colder than a witches tit in a brass bra” is a saying that evolved from that phenomenon.

The National Weather Service says we can expect frigid temperatures and gusty through the weekend.  Snow likely on Wednesday night, Thursday and Friday - nothing to get too excited about - with highs in the 30s and lows in the teens.  Keep that bra warm.