come in from the cold

come in from the cold

1. Literally, to enter a place in order to warm one's body (because it is cold outside). I know the kids are having fun building snowmen, but they need to come in from the cold before they get frostbite!2. To be accepted after previous rejection. After excluding me from their meetings for months, the rest of the executive team has finally let me come in from the cold.See also: cold, come

come in from the cold

Also, come in out of the cold. Return to shelter and safety, be welcomed into a group. For example, Bill was fed up with traveling on his own for the company and hoped they'd let him come in from the cold , or After years of not being invited to join, Steve was finally asked to come in out of the cold . This phrase, generally used figuratively, gained currency in the 1960s with John LeCarré's best-selling spy novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, about a long-time British spy in the cold war who longed to abandon the dirty tricks of his profession. Also see come in out of the rain. See also: cold, come

come in from the cold

mainly BRITISHCOMMON If someone or something comes in from the cold, they become popular or accepted again after a period in which they were not popular or generally accepted. Therapies such as these, once dismissed to the lunatic fringe, have come in from the cold. Over the past two years, Swedish investors have come in from the cold. Note: You can also say that you bring someone in from the cold. Grenada's former Health Minister who was fired from office two months ago has been brought in from the cold by the Prime Minister. Note: `The Spy who Came in from the Cold' is the title of a novel by the English writer John Le Carré, published in 1963. See also: cold, come

come in from the cold

gain acceptance. informal 1998 New Scientist Considering that the intracavity technique got off to such a slow start, it may, at last, have come in from the cold. See also: cold, come

come in from the ˈcold

be included in a group, an activity, etc. that you have had no part in before: Finland finally came in from the cold and became a member of the EU.See also: cold, come

come in from the cold

Return to safety and acceptance. This phrase became popular following the publication of John Le Carré’s best-selling espionage novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963). See leave out in the cold.See also: cold, come