# break the ice

Pronunciation: say "BRAYK thee YS" /ˈbɹeɪk ði ˈaɪs/

## Idiom

1. To ease the tension or formality of a first meeting by getting people talking and comfortable with one another.
   - Simple: To say or do something friendly so people relax when they first meet.
   - _The host opened with a quick game to break the ice among the new colleagues._
   - _Nobody spoke until Maria broke the ice with a question about the weather._
2. To make the opening remark that gets a conversation started.
   - Simple: To say the first words that get people talking.
   - _She broke the ice with a comment about the long line at the counter._
   - _I waited for someone else to break the ice, but no one spoke._
3. To overcome the initial obstacles of an undertaking and manage to make a real start.
   - Simple: To get past the hardest first steps so you can begin something.
   - _Their first signed client broke the ice, and contracts soon followed._
   - _It took a bold proposal to break the ice on the stalled negotiations._

## Origin

The phrase comes from the metaphor that strangers are socially separated by ice, which is broken when people begin to interact.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/break-the-ice (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).