(1 syl.). To break the ice. To broach a disagreeable
subject; to open the way. In allusion to breaking ice for bathers.
(Latin, scindero glaciem; Italian, romper il giaccio.)
(Anglo-Saxon, is.)
[We] An' If you break the ice, and do this feat ...
Will not so graceless be, to be ingrate.
Shakespeare: Taming of the Shrew, i. 2.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
