in cold blood—said of smth. brutal or cruel done in an unemotional way:
- Sixteen innocent people, make-up artists, technicians and journalists, were murdered in cold blood in that building.
Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase make someone’s blood run cold—(also: make someone’s blood freeze) horrify or shock a person:
- What he saw made his blood run cold. The woman stood there, holding a sword half as long as she was.
with sang-froid—(Fr.) acting calmly and without emotion in a dangerous or difficult situation:
- A man who always acts with sang-froid has a great advantage over him who is of a lively and easily inflamed nature.