# blow hot and cold

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/blow-hot-and-cold
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To behave inconsistently; to vacillate or to waver, as between extremes of opinion or emotion.

## Examples

- He blows hot and cold about our weekend plans.
- You blow hot and cold whenever I ask for your honest opinion.
- My boss keeps blowing hot and cold on the project, so I never know if we are actually finishing it.
- The landlord blows hot and cold about fixing the heater, sometimes promising a repair today and then ignoring my calls for a week.
- The politician continued to blow hot and cold regarding the new tax policy, leaving voters confused about his true intentions.

## Origin

The expression originates from Aesop’s fable The Satyr and the Traveller, in which a satyr observes his human companion blowing on his hands to warm them and then blowing on his soup to cool it. Distrusting a creature capable of producing both heat and cold from the same mouth with the same breath, the satyr promptly terminates the friendship. The idiom entered English as a metaphor for such inconsistency, though modern social consequences are generally less abrupt than those suffered by the traveller.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.