a mean cold shot

[polaris]

Hello,
I need your help for the meaning of this expression.
Here is the dialog :
Beth : You want some breakfast ? I can make you some eggs or cereal. I have pretty much everything.
Ben : No thanks I'm not really hungry, I wouldn't make you do that anyway. All those years you (I heard she) could make a mean cold shot you didn't have to set an alarm for. (Ben looks sad at this point)
Beth : So how is Seushi ?
Does that mean that Ben is speaking about his ex wife who didn't cook well or didn't want to prepare his breakfast ?
NB : Actually Ben divorced.

[Tdol]

To me, a shot is a drink of spirits, to be drunk fast normally. A mean, cold shot, would make sense with the connection to not needing an alarm clock, but I can't really figure out much more than this. There may be another meaning to the term that I am unfamiliar with.

[polaris]

Thank you for your answer, Tdol.

Wow this one seems very complex. I don't see the pertinence of this sentence in the dialog. Beth is offering her help to make the breakfast and, according to you, Ben seems to speak about his ex-wife and her problem with alcohol... (she is an alcoholic actually.) So he would say that she awaked with a drink so strong that she didn't need any alarm clock ? If your are right, the purpose of the sentence would be to compare the healthy habits of Beth with the alcoholism of his ex wife ? I have the feeling that this sentence is completely irrelevant...

[Casiopea]

Polaris, where's the dialogue taken from?

[Tdol]

If she is an alcoholic, then it makes more sense to me, though not complete sense. Beth wants to make breakfast, which is controlled by the alarm clock, but his ex-wife was good at drinks- it sounds as if he's just feeling sorry for himself.

[Casiopea]

It's an odd phrase 'cold shot'. My first thought -given the topic is about making someone breakfast - was that 'cold shot' meant a cold look; i.e., a stare that said, 'Make your own damn breakfast!'

[Tdol]

You obviously don't drink vodka for breakfast.

[polaris]

This dialog is taken from a script of an american sitcom. My job is to translate the elucubrations of brilliant, wacko Angelenos so called scenarists completely devoted to urban english...

Casiopea, I like your interpretation of "cold shot" as "cold look", which could replace the breakfast prepared by a loving wife. So far, the meaning of "all those years she could make a mean cold shot you didn't have to set an alarm for" could be :

"All those years she could make you a mean cold look, which awaked you as an alarm clock, instead of a breakfast"

or

"All those years she could drink a very strong drink that awaked her as an alarm clock, instead of eating a breakfast".