cold take
/koʊld teɪk/
CommonAn opinion so obvious, safe, or late that it barely counts as a take.
Usually mocking. Calling someone's take 'cold' means they either played it too safe or are way too late to the conversation.
Real-world examples3 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Cold take: water is good for you. | Stating something completely obvious as if it's a bold opinion. | x, 2023 |
| 02 | Bro is still posting about this? Cold take of the century. | The person is way too late on a topic that moved on weeks ago. | x, 2024 |
| 03 | Not even a hot take, that's a cold take. Everyone already knows this. | The opinion is so mainstream that calling it a hot take is wrong. | reddit, 2024 |
Use it when
- Someone states something that is clearly obvious and calls it a take.
- Someone shares an opinion long after everyone else already talked about it.
- Someone frames a consensus opinion as controversial.
Do not use it when
- The opinion is genuinely bold or controversial.Use “hot-take” instead.
- You want to call something simply wrong.Use “bad-take” instead.
Cold take vs hot take
cold take
Cold take is safe, late, or too obvious to generate any reaction.
VS
hot-take
Hot take is bold and designed to spark immediate pushback or debate.
Cold take vs bad take
cold take
Cold take is uncontroversial or stale.
VS
bad-take
Bad take is actively wrong or poorly reasoned.
Origin and context
Coined as a direct counterpart to 'hot take'. Gained traction on sports Twitter as a way to mock obvious or late commentary.
- First seen
- mid-2010s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/cold-takeUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0