it's not the heat, it's the humidity

it's not the heat, it's the humidity

Said in very hot weather that feels especially unpleasant due to high levels of humidity. It's not the heat, it's the humidity—that's what really bothers me during the summertime.
See also: not
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

It's not the heat, it's the humidity.

Prov. When the air is damp, hot days feel even hotter and more miserable. Jill: I hope the air-conditioning is fixed soon; the heat is unbearable in here. Jane: It's not the heat, it's the humidity. Alan: I thought the summers were hot when I was growing up in New Mexico, but they're even hotter here in Iowa. Jane: The climate is moister here; it's not the heat, it's the humidity.
See also: not
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • it's all the same to me
  • (it's) not half bad
  • not half bad
  • be up to (one)
  • be up to somebody
  • a scooch
  • it's on me
  • it's not the meat, it's the motion
  • it strikes me that
  • it's a wonder...
References in periodicals archive
When it comes to corrosion ruining weapons stored in the arms room, it's not the heat, it's the humidity. Humidity causes moisture to build up on and in weapons.
... It's the humidity!
In It's Not the Heat, It's the Humidity, 1999, the most hotly colored canvas in the show, a simple black loop, which begins at the base of the canvas and ends close to the middle of its right edge, is placed on an intense red-orange ground.
TODD MCKIE