*Cold shoulder

Once upon a time, there was a group of penguins who lived in a frozen land. Among them was a penguin named Peter who loved to play pranks on his friends. One day, he played a trick on his best friend, Paul, and made him slip on the ice. Paul was angry and hurt, so he walked away giving Peter the cold shoulder.

Peter felt bad for his actions and wanted to patch things up with Paul. However, every time he tried to apologize, Paul ignored him and walked away without saying a word. Peter soon realized that he was receiving the ‘silent treatment,’ which refers to a person choosing to ignore someone else as a means of showing displeasure or expressing their emotions.

The more Peter tried to make amends, the longer Paul ignored him. Peter eventually learned his lesson that playing pranks on friends was not worth losing their trust and respect. He made a sincere apology and promised to never play pranks again. Paul forgave him, and their friendship grew even stronger.

From that day on, whenever Peter saw the words ‘cold shoulder’ in a crossword puzzle, he was reminded of the time when he received the silent treatment from his best friend. It was a lesson learned that he would never forget. And that’s the origin story of the crossword clue ‘cold shoulder’ and its answer ‘silent treatment.’