Found 1 items, similar to To blow hot and cold.
English → English (gcide) Definition: 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]