from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Blow \Blow\, v. t.
1. To force a current of air upon with the mouth, or by other
means; as, to blow the fire.
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2. To drive by a current air; to impel; as, the tempest blew
the ship ashore.
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Off at sea northeast winds blow
Sabean odors from the spicy shore. --Milton.
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3. To cause air to pass through by the action of the mouth,
or otherwise; to cause to sound, as a wind instrument; as,
to blow a trumpet; to blow an organ; to blow a horn.
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Hath she no husband
That will take pains to blow a horn before her?
--Shak.
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Boy, blow the pipe until the bubble rise,
Then cast it off to float upon the skies. --Parnell.
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4. To clear of contents by forcing air through; as, to blow
an egg; to blow one's nose.
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5. To burst, shatter, or destroy by an explosion; -- usually
with up, down, open, or similar adverb; as, to blow up a
building.
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6. To spread by report; to publish; to disclose; to reveal,
intentionally or inadvertently; as, to blow an agent's
cover.
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Through the court his courtesy was blown. --Dryden.
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His language does his knowledge blow. --Whiting.
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7. To form by inflation; to swell by injecting air; as, to
blow bubbles; to blow glass.
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8. To inflate, as with pride; to puff up.
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Look how imagination blows him. --Shak.
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9. To put out of breath; to cause to blow from fatigue; as,
to blow a horse. --Sir W. Scott.
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10. To deposit eggs or larv[ae] upon, or in (meat, etc.).
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To suffer
The flesh fly blow my mouth. --Shak.
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11. To perform an act of fellatio on; to stimulate another's
penis with one's mouth; -- usually considered vulgar.
[slang]
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12. to smoke (e. g. marijuana); to blow pot. [colloq.]
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13. to botch; to bungle; as, he blew his chance at a good job
by showing up late for the interview. [colloq.]
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14. to leave; to depart from; as, to blow town. [slang]
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15. to squander; as, he blew his inheritance gambling.
[colloq.]
[PJC]
{To blow great guns}, to blow furiously and with roaring
blasts; -- said of the wind at sea or along the coast.
{To blow off}, to empty (a boiler) of water through the
blow-off pipe, while under steam pressure; also, to eject
(steam, water, sediment, etc.) from a boiler.
{To blow one's own trumpet}, to vaunt one's own exploits, or
sound one's own praises.
{To blow out}, to extinguish by a current of air, as a
candle.
{To blow up}.
(a) To fill with air; to swell; as, to blow up a bladder
or bubble.
(b) To inflate, as with pride, self-conceit, etc.; to
puff up; as, to blow one up with flattery. "Blown up
with high conceits engendering pride." --Milton.
(c) To excite; as, to blow up a contention.
(d) To burst, to raise into the air, or to scatter, by an
explosion; as, to blow up a fort.
(e) To scold violently; as, to blow up a person for some
offense. [Colloq.]
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I have blown him up well -- nobody can say I
wink at what he does. --G. Eliot.
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{To blow upon}.
(a) To blast; to taint; to bring into discredit; to
render stale, unsavory, or worthless.
(b) To inform against. [Colloq.]
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How far the very custom of hearing anything
spouted withers and blows upon a fine passage,
may be seen in those speeches from
[Shakespeare's] Henry V. which are current in
the mouths of schoolboys. --C. Lamb.
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A lady's maid whose character had been blown
upon. --Macaulay.
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