What is "cold comfort"

n. (context idiomatic English) Much less reassurance, consolation, aid, or pleasure than one needs or desires.

n. very limited consolation or empathy; "he told me that time heals all wounds but that was cold comfort to me"

Cold Comfort may refer to:

• " Cold Comfort", an episode of Are You Being Served?
• "Cold Comfort" (Law & Order: Criminal Intent), a 2003 episode of Criminal Intent
• Operation Cold Comfort, a failed raid during World War II
• "Cold Comfort" (Dark Angel), an episode of the television series Dark Angel
• Cold Comfort (film), 1989 film directed by Vic Sarin
• Cold Comfort (album), a 2011 album by Autumn
• "Cold Comfort" (Inside No. 9), a 2015 episode of Inside No. 9

Cold Comfort is the fifth studio album by the Dutch gothic metal band Autumn, released on 8 November 2011.

Cold Comfort is a Canadian psychological thriller film, released in 1989. The film was written by Richard Beattie and Elliot L. Sims based on the play by James Garrard, and directed by Vic Sarin.

"Cold Comfort" is the fourth episode of the second series of the British dark comedy anthology television programme Inside No. 9. The episode, which was written and directed by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, was first broadcast on 16 April 2015 on BBC Two. Most of "Cold Comfort" is composed of a stream from a fixed camera on the desk of Andy, the protagonist, with smaller pictures on the side of the screen, in the style of a CCTV feed. "Cold Comfort" was filmed over two and a half days in Twickenham, and was, like " A Quiet Night In" from Inside No. 9 first series, highly experimental. It was Pemberton and Shearsmith's directorial debut.

The episode starred Pemberton, Shearsmith, Jane Horrocks, Nikki Amuka-Bird and Tony Way as volunteers at Crisis Support Line, a crisis hotline. The story follows Andy (Pemberton), who is starting at the call centre. After taking a particularly disturbing call from Chloe, a suicidal teenage girl, Andy begins to struggle, but he is offered support by his supervisor George (Shearsmith), the gossipy Liz (Horrocks) and the officious Joanne (Amuka-Bird). Andy is later joined by Michael (Way). Vilma Hollingbery, Vicky Hall and members of the comedy group Gein's Family Giftshop (Edward Easton, Kath Hughes and James Meehan) voiced various callers, with the Gein's Family Giftshop comedians also appearing as on-screen extras, playing unnamed call centre volunteers.

The television critics Andrew Billen and David Chater (both writing for The Times) and John Robinson (writing for The Guardian) characterised "Cold Comfort" as somewhat weaker than other episodes of the series, but other critics, including Patrick Mulkern (writing for Radio Times), the comedy critic Bruce Dessau and writers for The Sunday Times were complimentary. Commentators praised the format, the writing and the performances, especially Horrocks's, but offered differing views about the episode's conclusion, plot and atmosphere.