[aksss]

> I've never lived anywhere in the US that gets that cold, but in my experience [which we've established is none], I don't think Americans say that much.

It's a thing in Northern climes where the temperatures can get that cold. Everyone living in such places will know the term and you'll hear it frequently when talking about the weather or listening to weather forcasts.

[bigiain]

Where I come from, "It's fucking freezing!" colloquially means "under 10C". Because that's the lower edge of our "normal" climate here, so our houses are not insulated well for temps below that and central heating is rare because it's rarely needed. We also tend to not have a wardrobe with much that's suitable for temps down below 10C, unless you happen to have ski gear or winter motorcycling gear or whatever. (I've got one bike jacket which is too warm to wear at temps much above 10 or 15C - it gets very little use, in spite of me _really_ liking it...)