Blow, v. t.
1. To force a current of air upon with the mouth, or by other means; as, to blow the fire.
2. To drive by a current air; to impel; as, the tempest blew the ship ashore.
Off at sea northeast winds blow
Sabean odors from the spicy shore. --Milton.
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.
Hath she no husband
That will take pains to blow a horn before her? --Shak.
Boy, blow the pipe until the bubble rise,
Then cast it off to float upon the skies. --Parnell.
4. To clear of contents by forcing air through; as, to blow an egg; to blow one's nose.
5. To burst, shatter, or destroy by an explosion; -- usually with up, down, open, or similar adverb; as, to blow up a building.
6. To spread by report; to publish; to disclose; to reveal, intentionally or inadvertently; as, to blow an agent's cover.
Through the court his courtesy was blown. --Dryden.
His language does his knowledge blow. --Whiting.
7. To form by inflation; to swell by injecting air; as, to blow bubbles; to blow glass.
8. To inflate, as with pride; to puff up.
Look how imagination blows him. --Shak.
9. To put out of breath; to cause to blow from fatigue; as, to blow a horse.
10. To deposit eggs or larvæ upon, or in (meat, etc.).
To suffer
The flesh fly blow my mouth. --Shak.
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.]
I have blown him up well -- nobody can say I wink at what he does. --G. Eliot.
-- To blow upon. (a) To blast; to taint; to bring into discredit; to render stale, unsavory, or worthless. (b) To inform against. [Colloq.]
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.
A lady's maid whose character had been blown upon. --Macaulay.