- Meaning
- This idiom describes someone who is inconsistent, vacillating between enthusiasm and indifference or support and opposition. It suggests unreliability or indecision, often used to criticize erratic behavior or mixed signals in relationships or decisions.
- Origin
- The phrase comes from Aesop’s fable ‘The Satyr and the Traveler’ (6th century BCE), where a traveler blows hot to warm his hands and cold to cool his soup, confusing the satyr. In English, it appeared in John Heywood’s 1546 *Proverbs*: ‘She bloweth both hot and cold.’ Shakespeare used it in *King John* (1595), and it became a standard metaphor for inconsistency by the 17th century, as seen in John Milton’s works. Its fable-based imagery ensures its enduring use.
- Variants
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- Blowing hot and cold
- Blow hot, blow cold
- Examples
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- He’s blowing hot and cold about the project—one day he’s excited, the next he’s uninterested.
- She blows hot and cold in our friendship, making it hard to know where I stand.
- The client is blowing hot and cold, praising the design then criticizing it.
- Don’t blow hot and cold on this decision—commit or walk away.
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