Meaning
Make a beginning that overcomes initial difficulty, reserve, or social awkwardness.
Origin
The figurative image is older in English than the recorded literal phrase about ships. Erasmus included the medieval Latin scindere glaciem in his Adagia in 1528 and explained it as opening a way by being first to undertake a task. English examples meaning make a difficult beginning appear in the mid-sixteenth century. The narrower social sense, easing reserve and starting conversation, is recorded by 1795. The metaphor ultimately invokes clearing ice for passage, but it did not originate with ice cubes at a party.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Usage Examples
- A simple question about the journey broke the ice at the interview.
- The host used a short game to break the ice between teams that had never met.
- Someone had to break the ice, so Leila introduced herself first.