Wiktionary
breaks the ice
vb. (en-third-person singularbreak the ice)
Usage examples of "breaks the ice".
The men's stares make Candy nervous, but Billy Bibbit breaks the ice with a wolf whistle, the sort of appreciation she is used to.
The cry of alacrity with which a sprightly eighty-year-old breaks the ice on the lake when going for a swim on Christmas Eve.
This breaks the ice, and he awkwardly confesses something he has not told even his analyst after twelve years in therapy several years ago he performed fellatio on a college mate.