to blow hot and cold
1
8.4
- idiom
- Informal
:
ser inconstante
- It's frustrating when you never know if he will blow hot and cold about the project.
Examples
-
She tends to blow hot and cold regarding her opinion on the new policy.
-
- Boy, you blow hot and cold.
-
Do you always blow hot and cold like this?
-
Boy, you sure blow hot and cold.
-
Well, you do seem to, sort of, blow hot and cold.
-
"You have blown hot and cold too often; I am totally skeptical.
Fiction book (1993) -
I find it difficult to trust someone who constantly blows hot and cold on their commitments.
Synonyms
23
5.3
To suddenly change your opinion or decision
3
7.4
Change repeatedly between different opinions or choices
1
8.1
To feel very excited about something and then lose interest often
1
8.2
To change opinions or promises about important matters often without a clear reason
Change opinions often to fit new people or situations
How Inconsistent
- Literature
23
5.3
- Informal
1
8.4
8
8.1
52
5.7
318
2.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The opposition of 'hot' and 'cold' gives a clear clue to alternating warmth and indifference, so a learner who knows those words can infer someone shifts between enthusiastic and aloof states. However, the verb 'blow' is metaphorical here and the sense of frequent, unpredictable change (rather than a single instance) is not fully predictable without exposure. Because part of the meaning maps transparently to the constituents but the idiomatic use of the verb and nuance require prior knowledge, this is best classed as semi-transparent.
Etymology
The idiom blow hot and cold comes from the picture of someone who blows warm air (hot) and then cold air (cold), so the temperature keeps changing. That's why it now means 'to change your feelings or be inconsistent'.