The origins for the expression “cold feet” are unclear. The phrase could have come about because that’s what really happens when people start second guessing themselves.

The origins for the expression “cold feet” are unclear, but the phrase could have come about because that’s what really happens when people start second guessing themselves.

Scientists report that the stress triggers a reaction that causes the temperature in the feet to drop.

More specifically, a particular cell protein responds to a receptor that interprets the brain’s signals and relocates to another area.

The receptor is sending out an alert calling for the conservation of body heat.

This leads to a cell structure change large enough to trip a switch of sorts in the body that starts sending more blood to the brain, heart, and lungs to help fend off the perceived attack.

This results in the cold and clammy feeling of the lower extremities.

Makes sense, but still not a mystery solver as to the origins of the expression since all of the science is a fairly recent discovery.

The first publishing of the phrase as we know it was either in 1862 or 1896, although a similar version also appeared in a play from 1605.