blow hot and cold
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blow hot and cold
Where it comes from
From Aesop's fable The Satyr and the Traveller, 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.
verb blows hot and cold · blowing hot and cold · blew hot and cold · blown hot and cold
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To behave inconsistently; to vacillate or to waver, as between extremes of opinion or emotion.
For a week, she couldn't get enough of me. The next week, her interest blew hot and cold, and a week later she dumped me.
Similar: run hot and cold, suck and blow
Translations
Every language
verb inconsistent behavior
| Español | una de cal y otra de arena |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 朝三暮四 zhāosānmùsì |
| Français | souffler le chaud et le froid |
| Deutsch | einmal hü und einmal hott sagen |
| Русский | семь пя́тниц на неде́ле у кого-либо semʹ pjátnic na nedéle |
Talk about this word "blow hot and cold." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/blow%20hot%20and%20cold. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. blow hot and cold. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/blow%20hot%20and%20cold "blow hot and cold." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/blow%20hot%20and%20cold.Cite this
@misc{blow_hot_and_cold_2026,
title = {blow hot and cold},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/blow%20hot%20and%20cold},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
