It's 'brass monkeys' here and the clouds are clearing. The moon is out so a frost is on the cards
Article about the origin of this phrase and the well known version
It mentions the possibility that it refers to brass cannon balls on a boat which in cold weather would be painfully cold to touch and it mentions the other possibility which is what most of us think it refers to.
A man who used to be in our church choir discovered the cannon balls possibility so in winter would go round saying the well known phrase to people in the church thinking that he was being polite
Did anyone set him straight on the alternative meaning?