No, frozen drinking water leaves you dead from dehydration or hypothermia (eating snow, etc).
If you can thaw water you should be able to thaw DEF.
What spin? We are talking about people who knowingly and willingly put more pollutants into the air and think they're justified because it's "only a little."
I've been guilty of similar thinking. Heck, I used to pour used engine oil on the ground around the fence to control weeds. I reamed the filler neck of my '75 F-100 out to accept the regular nozzle so I could save a few cents a gallon on gas.
I suppose I've just grown up and become more responsible these days.