blow hot and cold
To behave inconsistentlyTo behave inconsistently; to vacillate or to waver, as between extremes of opinion or emotion.
» During the night the wind blew cold.
Tatoeba contributors · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 senses(idiomatic)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.
einmal hü und einmal hott sagen
семь пя́тниц на неде́ле у кого-либоsemʹ pjátnic na nedéle
Examples
3 sentencesDuring the night the wind blew cold.
He blows hot and cold.
An angry wind blew cold and raised dense clouds of dust, while the trees shook and moaned in a weird way.
Translations
5 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Aesop's fable The Satyr and the Traveller, in which a satyr declares he cannot trustFrom 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.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
blows hot and cold, blowing hot and cold, blew hot and cold, blown hot and cold| Base form | blow hot and cold · to blow hot and cold |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | blows hot and cold |
| Present participle | blowing hot and cold |
| Past simple | blew hot and cold |
| Past participle | blown hot and cold |
irregular · Lesson
Synonyms
2 synonymsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle