Freezing Cold

Monkeys in Sapporo keeping warm in hot springs

I received an email the other day from Emiko, a Japanese friend who I met at the English teaching course at the British Council.

I had seeked her advise about visiting Japan in December. 

She had pointed out that it might be best to avoid Hokkaido during winter as it     was "freezing cold".

Now, that description has stayed in my mind, for although it would be considered inelegant: reiteration, I believe is the technical term: doesn't it just gets it's meaning across with rapier sharpness? How very Emiko, although not technically correct, once again she manages to communicate her meaning across with elegant sharpness. One of the best communicators/ teachers out there.