blow hot and cold

Cultural  

1. To change one's mind constantly about the value of something: “The administration should stop issuing such contradictory statements on taxes; they are alienating the voters by blowing hot and cold on tax reform.”

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blow hot and cold Idioms  

1. Change one's mind, vacillate, as in Jean's been blowing hot and cold about taking a winter vacation. This expression comes from Aesop's fable (c. 570 b.c.) about a man eating with a satyr on a winter day. At first the man blew on his hands to warm them and then blew on his soup to cool it. The satyr thereupon renounced the man's friendship because he blew hot and cold out of the same mouth. The expression was repeated by many writers, most often signifying a person who could not be relied on. William Chillingworth put it: “These men can blow hot and cold out of the same mouth to serve several purposes” (The Religion of Protestants, 1638).

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blow hot and cold

Though their characters blow hot and cold, her scenes with Johnson in which their latent friendliness comes through are a pleasure to watch.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026

Starmer promised Monday that his country's China policy would no longer blow "hot and cold".

From Barron's ● Dec. 2, 2025

Watford, who blow hot and cold too often, remain three points off safety.

From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2022

Mr. Silvers could blow hot and cold on his writers.

From New York Times ● Mar. 20, 2017

Thus, "sour grapes," "dog in the manger," "to blow hot and cold," "to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs," "to cry 'Wolf!'" will take on more significant meanings.

From Children's Literature A Textbook of Sources for Teachers and Teacher-Training Classes by Erle Elsworth Clippinger

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