In cold weather, you’ll often hear the expression “it’s too cold to wear a coat.” But that’s not really true. In fact, it’s more accurate to say that it’s too cold to wear a coat that isn’t warm enough.

The expression dates back to at least 1827, when it appeared in a short story by Washington Irving about an Englishman who arrives in New York and is told it’s too cold for him to wear his overcoat. It appears again in an 1869 book called The Young Gentleman and Lady’s Monitor of Fashion and Etiquette, which says: “It is not etiquette for ladies to appear on the street without their cloaks or shawls.”

This phrase has become so ingrained in our culture that we usually don’t even realize we’re using it — but there are other expressions for what we mean by this statement. For example:

“It’s too cold for a jacket.” This is used when the temperature is just above freezing (32 degrees Fahrenheit) or just below freezing (0 degrees Fahrenheit). If the temperature is much colder than this, you may want a thicker coat instead of just a jacket.

Last modified: September 19, 2022