The phrase cold chain refers to when it is winter and freezing cold outside and people are still working and trying to pull and push chains through things.
a cold chain that is passive :)
cold
The phrase these creatures line 2 refer to 'strongly right hand'.
I believe you mean "Yanking your chain.", which means, joking , playing a prank, pulling your leg.
stuff
Archipelago is understood to mean a collection of islands, so yes the "of islands" part is redundant.
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This phrase means literally: From many, one and is used to refer to the many states forming one country in the USA.
refer to the above subject
cold
the director
The phrase catching a cold is an idiom since you cannot physically catch an illness. This phrase has been around for hundreds of years but there is no indication as to when it originated.