If the atmosphere is a bit frosty and nobody is talking, you will almost certainly want to break the ice, won't you?
But during that time will you be wondering and cogitating on the origins of that phrase? Well, if you ever have done, here is the answer.
We all know that shipping was even more important in the past before air travel in order to connect countries together, so if the waters froze over then literally it broke all possible contact between two different countries.
In order for them to reconnect and be able to start 'talking' about the ice literally needed to be broken in order to carry on with their business, and hence the phrase to break the ice came into general parlance.
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