A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

in cold blood • with sang-froid
in cold blood —said of smth. brutal or cruel done in an un -
emotional way: Sixteen innocent people, make-up artists,
technicians and journalists, were murdered in cold blood in
that building.
Note:
The expression does not correlate in meaning with the
phrase make someone’s blood run cold—(also: make someone’s
blood freeze) horrify or shock a person: What he saw made his
blood run cold. The woman stood there, holding a sword half
as long as she was.
with sang-froid —(Fr.) acting calmly and without emotion
in a dangerous or difficult situation: A man who always acts
with sang-froid has a great advantage over him who is of a
lively and easily inflamed nature.
in cold storage • in the deep freeze
in cold storage —
1
. (of a process, project, etc.) temporarily dis-
continued; held in reserve: It seems to be rather a shame that
this anthology, which cost me a lot of work should remain
indefinitely in cold storage. 2. (sl., of a body) in a mortuary
(also: in the ice box): Zeno’s body is in cold storage on the
Blackvoid! It has been ever since he was originally killed.
in the deep freeze —
1
. is used to hyperbolically describe very
cold weather: Massachusetts is in the deep freeze for the third
day; before that it was just cold. 2. = in cold storage 
1
: If some-
thing is being postponed indefinitely, use two words: The proj-
ect is in the deep freeze. 3. (U.S. sl.) in prison: She couldn’t
stand his foul language any longer so she decided to cool him
off for a while by putting him in the deep freeze.
See also: on ice / on thin ice.
in common • out of the common
in common —
1
. in joint use or possession: However, one
thing all of our students have in common is that they’re curi-
ous, focused, and socially responsible. 2. in a community: Cit-
izens who share a language and culture are more likely to make
effective decisions about their life in common.
out of the common —unusual; extraordinary: His voice is
something out of the common.