Cold feet is apprehension or doubt

Doubt

Doubt, a status between belief and disbelief, involves uncertainty or distrust or lack of sureness of an alleged fact, an action, a motive, or a decision. Doubt brings into question some notion of a perceived "reality", and may involve delaying or rejecting relevant action out of concerns for...

 strong enough to prevent a planned course of action.

The origin of the term itself has been attributed to American author Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane was an American novelist, short story writer, poet and journalist. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism...

, who added the phrase, in 1896, to the second edition of his short novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets

Maggie: A Girl of the Streets

Maggie: A Girl of the Streets is an 1893 novel by American author Stephen Crane. Often called a novella because of its short length, it was Crane's first published book of fiction. Because the work was considered too risqué by publishers, Crane, who was 21 years old at the time, had to finance...

.

The behaviour may be modelled as a tension between temptation

Temptation

A temptation is an act that looks appealing to an individual. It is usually used to describe acts with negative connotations and as such, tends to lead a person to regret such actions, for various reasons: legal, social, psychological , health, economic, etc...

 and self control

Self control

Self control is the ability to control one's emotions, behavior and desires in order to obtain some reward later. In psychology it is sometimes called self-regulation...

. If pessimism

Pessimism

Pessimism, from the Latin word pessimus , is a state of mind in which one perceives life negatively. Value judgments may vary dramatically between individuals, even when judgments of fact are undisputed. The most common example of this phenomenon is the "Is the glass half empty or half full?"...

 increases as the point of no return approaches then the individual may balk and refuse to proceed. If they proceed regardless then buyer's remorse

Buyer's remorse

Buyer's remorse is the sense of regret after having made a purchase. It is frequently associated with the purchase of an expensive item such as a car or house...

 is the similar feeling experienced after the event.

Taking a bold decision rather than suffering indecision

Indecision

Indecision was a hardcore band which was started in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn in 1993 and officially disbanded in the summer of 2000 though they still play shows occasionally.- History :From the band:...

 or cold feet is known as crossing the Rubicon.

Marriage

A common use of the phrase is when people fear the commitment

Commitment

Commitment may refer to:*Promise, or personal commitment*Contract, a legally binding exchange of promises*Brand commitment*Involuntary commitment, the use of legal means or forms to commit a person to a mental hospital, insane asylum or psychiatric ward...

 of marriage

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 and get cold feet before a wedding

Wedding

A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...

 ceremony.

External links

• "Expert Advice on Cold Feet" – Article from Brides Magazine
• "Cold Feet Common in Brides-to-Be" ABC News
  ABC News
  ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
  
   Good Morning America
  Good Morning America
  Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
  
  , May 1, 2005
• "When Did We Get 'Cold Feet'? The Germans had 'em first!", by Daniel Engber, Slate.com, May 3, 2005