Noun
cold tap (plural cold taps)
The tap (of a pair) that produces cold water (the other being the hot tap)
The cosy glow which had been enveloping the Duke became shot through by a sudden chill. It was as if he had been luxuriating in a warm shower-bath, and some hidden hand had turned on the cold tap. P. G. Wodehouse
I will not be held like a drunkard / under the cold tap of facts. Leonard Cohen