Yes - ie it would sound odd if you tried to translate it word-for-word. It's a phrase particular to the language, in this case English.
"Catching a cold" is an idiom - it means to come down with the symptoms of the cold virus.
This is not an idiom. When you see AS ___ AS ___ you are dealing with A Simile. They are comparing the temperature to a witch's supposedly cold body.
meaning of cold war
The origin is disputed, however it appears in print in a Sir Walter Scott novel 'The Antiquary' dated 1816
No, "As ____ as ____" is always the formula for a simile, a comparison of two thing to each other.
The idiom down to the wire means to the very last possible moment. Therefore, the entire phrase would stand to mean that "it went to the very last split second and we almost missed your flight, but made it."
"Cold-blooded" means lacking emotion or feeling, such as a cold-blooded killer.
get scared or terrified
I think I am catching a cold.Do you think you are catching a cold?
Berlin Wall
"Tom was feeling under the weather after catching a cold."
To do work and focus