cold iron
(mythology) a (possibly fictional) substance harmful to fairies; depending on the story, ordinary iron or iron treated in some way.
Seen in the wild
#booksky #bookqw word: DRY A bramble has been talking in the woods, which means calling in a fairy-smith. Jedediah, elder of the smithy, has been testing the bush with cold iron. The bush has opinions about bein…
Get me a hammer and a cold iron nail
Stuck on the idea of a fae working with mortals who do not fully understand fae Continually asking the mortals to pick up some objects but never telling them it’s because traces of cold iron make it burn to the touch…
Definitions
(mythology) a (possibly fictional) substance harmful to fairies; depending on the story, ordinary iron or iron treated in some way.
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(slang, fishing, Scotland, Ireland) A bad omen.
“#booksky #bookqw word: DRY A bramble has been talking in the woods, which means calling in a fairy-smith. Jedediah, elder of the smithy, has been testing the bush with cold iron. The bush has opinions about being prodded. Buy here: tinyurl.com/nvvetupj”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Get me a hammer and a cold iron nail”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Stuck on the idea of a fae working with mortals who do not fully understand fae Continually asking the mortals to pick up some objects but never telling them it’s because traces of cold iron make it burn to the touch. Letting them guess if it’s a trick or not”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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Semantically related
- 62%
(uncountable, countable, metallurgy) Any material, not a steel, predominantly made of elemental iron.
- 61%
(uncountable) A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel: a chemical element having atomic number 26 and symbol Fe.
- 59%
(mythological creature) A mythical being of human form with magical powers, known in many sizes and descriptions, although often depicted in modern illustrations only as a small sprite with gauze-like wings, especially one that is female. Fairies are revered in some modern forms of paganism.
- 58%
sheet metal consisting of iron.