blow hot and cold
English
Etymology
From Aesop's fable in which a satyr declares he cannot trust a man who blows hot (to warm his hands) and cold (to cool his food) with the same breath.
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb
blow hot and cold
- (intransitive, idiomatic) To behave inconsistently; to vacillate or to waver, as between extremes of opinion or emotion.
- 1852 1 July, "New-York University: Commencement Ceremonies—Anniversaries of the Literary Societies," New York Times:
- He blows hot and cold. He will speak for or against.
- 1968 25 Oct., "A Goat, Twins and a Virgin," Time:
- Geminis, like air, blow hot and cold. They go this way today and another way tomorrow.
- 2002 12 May, "China says DPP is only welcome if it changes platform ," Taipei Times (retrieved 9 July 2008):
- The Xinhua commentary said that Chen "blows hot and cold, behaves capriciously and is a hard man to trust."
- 1852 1 July, "New-York University: Commencement Ceremonies—Anniversaries of the Literary Societies," New York Times:
Synonyms
- run hot and cold
- suck and blow
Translations
inconsistent behavior
|
|