- To blow hot and cold
- Blow Blow, v. i. [imp. {Blew} (bl[=u]); p. p. {Blown}
(bl[=o]n); p. pr. & vb. n. {Blowing}.] [OE. blawen, blowen,
AS. bl[=a]wan to blow, as wind; akin to OHG. pl[=a]jan, G.
bl["a]hen, to blow up, swell, L. flare to blow, Gr.
'ekflai`nein to spout out, and to E. bladder, blast, inflate,
etc., and perh. blow to bloom.]
1. To produce a current of air; to move, as air, esp. to move
rapidly or with power; as, the wind blows.
[1913 Webster]
Hark how it rains and blows ! --Walton. [1913 Webster]
2. To send forth a forcible current of air, as from the mouth or from a pair of bellows. [1913 Webster]
3. To breathe hard or quick; to pant; to puff. [1913 Webster]
Here is Mistress Page at the door, sweating and blowing. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
4. To sound on being blown into, as a trumpet. [1913 Webster]
There let the pealing organ blow. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
5. To spout water, etc., from the blowholes, as a whale. [1913 Webster]
6. To be carried or moved by the wind; as, the dust blows in from the street. [1913 Webster]
The grass blows from their graves to thy own. --M. Arnold. [1913 Webster]
7. To talk loudly; to boast; to storm. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster]
You blow behind my back, but dare not say anything to my face. --Bartlett. [1913 Webster]
8. To stop functioning due to a failure in an electrical circuit, especially on which breaks the circuit; sometimes used with out; -- used of light bulbs, electronic components, fuses; as, the dome light in the car blew out. [PJC]
9. To deflate by sudden loss of air; usually used with out; -- of inflatable tires. [PJC]
{To blow hot and cold} (a saying derived from a fable of [AE]sop's), to favor a thing at one time and treat it coldly at another; or to appear both to favor and to oppose.
{To blow off}, to let steam escape through a passage provided for the purpose; as, the engine or steamer is blowing off.
{To blow out}. (a) To be driven out by the expansive force of a gas or vapor; as, a steam cock or valve sometimes blows out. (b) To talk violently or abusively. [Low]
{To blow over}, to pass away without effect; to cease, or be dissipated; as, the storm and the clouds have blown over.
{To blow up}, to be torn to pieces and thrown into the air as by an explosion of powder or gas or the expansive force of steam; to burst; to explode; as, a powder mill or steam boiler blows up. ``The enemy's magazines blew up.'' --Tatler. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
