Question:
What is the meaning of the idiom: 'To blow hot and cold'?
What is the meaning of the idiom: 'To blow hot and cold'?
Show Hint
1. Always avoid literal options (like temperature changes in Option A) when dealing with idioms; idioms are almost always entirely figurative.
2. Think of "hot" as enthusiastic and "cold" as distant/uninterested to easily remember this idiom's meaning.
2. Think of "hot" as enthusiastic and "cold" as distant/uninterested to easily remember this idiom's meaning.
Updated On: Jun 8, 2026
- To suffer from sudden mood swings or temperature changes
- To alternate constantly between enthusiasm and indifference
- To speak in a very ambiguous or confusing manner
- To pick fights without any valid reason
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Verified By Collegedunia
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understanding the Question:
1. This vocabulary-based question asks for the correct figurative meaning of the common English idiom "To blow hot and cold".
2. Idioms are expressions whose meanings cannot be understood literally from the individual words themselves; instead, they have established cultural and figurative meanings.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
1. Firstly, the origin of the idiom "to blow hot and cold" traces back to Aesop's Fable of "The Satyr and the Traveler".
- In the story, a traveler blows on his hands to warm them up (blowing hot) and then blows on his soup to cool it down (blowing cold). The Satyr finds this behavior untrustworthy because the same mouth produces opposite results.
2. Secondly, figuratively, the idiom is used to describe a person who is highly inconsistent and variable in their attitude, opinions, or level of interest towards something.
- "Hot" represents passion, excitement, support, or enthusiasm.
- "Cold" represents lack of interest, neglect, or indifference.
- Therefore, a person who blows hot and cold keeps alternating between being very excited and supportive one minute, and completely uninterested the next.
3. Thirdly, let us examine why other options are incorrect:
- Option (A) is a literal interpretation involving physical temperature or mood swings, which is not the exact figurative definition of this idiom.
- Option (C) refers to being vague or ambiguous, which is represented by idioms like "to beat around the bush".
- Option (D) refers to being argumentative or hostile, which is represented by idioms like "to pick a bone" or "to have a chip on one's shoulder".
Step 3: Final Answer:
1. The correct meaning of the idiom "To blow hot and cold" is to alternate constantly between enthusiasm and indifference.
2. This corresponds directly to Option (B).
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