"blow smoke" meaning in All languages combined

See blow smoke on Wiktionary

Verb [English]

Audio: en-au-blow smoke.ogg [Australia] Forms: blows smoke [present, singular, third-person], blowing smoke [participle, present], blew smoke [past], blown smoke [participle, past]
Etymology: By shortening of the full expression blow smoke up someone's ass, deemed less vulgar. Head templates: {{en-verb|<,,blew,blown>}} blow smoke (third-person singular simple present blows smoke, present participle blowing smoke, simple past blew smoke, past participle blown smoke)
  1. (originally US) To speak with a lack of credibility, sense, purpose, or truth; to speak nonsense. Synonyms: blow smoke up someone's ass, nonsense, deceive Related terms: blow hot air, pass the bottle of smoke, smoke and mirrors, smoke blower, Tobacco smoke enema Translations (idiomatic): говоря празни приказки (govorja prazni prikazki) [usually] (Bulgarian), хвърлям прах в очите (hvărljam prah v očite) (english: deception) [imperfective] (Bulgarian), хвърля прах в очите (hvărlja prah v očite) (english: deception) [perfective] (Bulgarian), marejar la perdiu (Catalan), höpöttää (Finnish), jaaritella (Finnish), jauhaa (Finnish), puhua joutavia (Finnish), parler pour ne rien dire (French), ρίχνω στάχτη στα μάτια (ríchno stáchti sta mátia) (Greek), parlare a vanvera (Italian), wciskać kit [imperfective] (Polish), wcisnąć kit [perfective] (Polish), meter floro (Spanish), florear (Spanish)

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_links": [
    [
      "blow smoke up someone's ass",
      "blow smoke up someone's ass#English"
    ]
  ],
  "etymology_text": "By shortening of the full expression blow smoke up someone's ass, deemed less vulgar.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "blows smoke",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "blowing smoke",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "blew smoke",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "blown smoke",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "<,,blew,blown>"
      },
      "expansion": "blow smoke (third-person singular simple present blows smoke, present participle blowing smoke, simple past blew smoke, past participle blown smoke)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Hindi terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Catalan translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Greek translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hindi translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              62,
              75
            ]
          ],
          "text": "Are these \"statistics\" they cite verifiable, or are they just blowing smoke, trying to scare people?",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              97,
              110
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2005, Merle Haggard, “America First”, in Chicago Wind:",
          "text": "Why don't we liberate these United States? / We're the ones who need it the most / You think I'm blowing smoke? Boys, it ain't no joke / I make twenty trips a year from coast to coast",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              157,
              170
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2009 April 2, Jeffrey Goldberg, quoting Joe Klein, “Joe Klein on Netanyahu”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 19 Aug 2010:",
          "text": "Joe [Klein] calls my [Benjamin] Netanyahu interview \"more depressing than alarming, since you've got to figure that the new Israeli prime minister is mostly blowing smoke.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To speak with a lack of credibility, sense, purpose, or truth; to speak nonsense."
      ],
      "id": "en-blow_smoke-en-verb-QkQ~gQ65",
      "links": [
        [
          "credibility",
          "credibility"
        ],
        [
          "sense",
          "sense"
        ],
        [
          "purpose",
          "purpose"
        ],
        [
          "truth",
          "truth"
        ],
        [
          "nonsense",
          "nonsense"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(originally US) To speak with a lack of credibility, sense, purpose, or truth; to speak nonsense."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "blow hot air"
        },
        {
          "word": "pass the bottle of smoke"
        },
        {
          "word": "smoke and mirrors"
        },
        {
          "word": "smoke blower"
        },
        {
          "word": "Tobacco smoke enema"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "blow smoke up someone's ass"
        },
        {
          "word": "nonsense"
        },
        {
          "word": "deceive"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "lang_code": "bg",
          "roman": "govorja prazni prikazki",
          "sense": "idiomatic",
          "tags": [
            "usually"
          ],
          "word": "говоря празни приказки"
        },
        {
          "code": "bg",
          "english": "deception",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "lang_code": "bg",
          "roman": "hvărljam prah v očite",
          "sense": "idiomatic",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "translation": "deception",
          "word": "хвърлям прах в очите"
        },
        {
          "code": "bg",
          "english": "deception",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "lang_code": "bg",
          "roman": "hvărlja prah v očite",
          "sense": "idiomatic",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "translation": "deception",
          "word": "хвърля прах в очите"
        },
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "lang_code": "ca",
          "sense": "idiomatic",
          "word": "marejar la perdiu"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "idiomatic",
          "word": "höpöttää"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "idiomatic",
          "word": "jaaritella"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "idiomatic",
          "word": "jauhaa"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "idiomatic",
          "word": "puhua joutavia"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "lang_code": "fr",
          "sense": "idiomatic",
          "word": "parler pour ne rien dire"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "lang_code": "el",
          "roman": "ríchno stáchti sta mátia",
          "sense": "idiomatic",
          "word": "ρίχνω στάχτη στα μάτια"
        },
        {
          "code": "hi",
          "lang": "Hindi",
          "lang_code": "hi",
          "note": "आँख में धूल झोंकना (to deceive, literally “shove dust/smoke in eyes”)",
          "sense": "idiomatic"
        },
        {
          "code": "hi",
          "lang": "Hindi",
          "lang_code": "hi",
          "note": "चूना लगाना (cūnā lagānā, literally “apply lime (material)”)",
          "sense": "idiomatic"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "lang_code": "it",
          "sense": "idiomatic",
          "word": "parlare a vanvera"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "lang_code": "pl",
          "sense": "idiomatic",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "wciskać kit"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "lang_code": "pl",
          "sense": "idiomatic",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "wcisnąć kit"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "lang_code": "ru",
          "note": "гнать пургу́ (gnatʹ purgú, literally “drive the blizzard”)",
          "sense": "idiomatic"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "lang_code": "ru",
          "note": "поро́ть чепуху́ (porótʹ čepuxú, literally “flog the nonsense”)",
          "sense": "idiomatic"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "lang_code": "es",
          "sense": "idiomatic",
          "word": "meter floro"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "lang_code": "es",
          "sense": "idiomatic",
          "word": "florear"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-blow smoke.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3c/En-au-blow_smoke.ogg/En-au-blow_smoke.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/En-au-blow_smoke.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "blow smoke"
}
{
  "etymology_links": [
    [
      "blow smoke up someone's ass",
      "blow smoke up someone's ass#English"
    ]
  ],
  "etymology_text": "By shortening of the full expression blow smoke up someone's ass, deemed less vulgar.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "blows smoke",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "blowing smoke",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "blew smoke",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "blown smoke",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "<,,blew,blown>"
      },
      "expansion": "blow smoke (third-person singular simple present blows smoke, present participle blowing smoke, simple past blew smoke, past participle blown smoke)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "blow hot air"
    },
    {
      "word": "pass the bottle of smoke"
    },
    {
      "word": "smoke and mirrors"
    },
    {
      "word": "smoke blower"
    },
    {
      "word": "Tobacco smoke enema"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "American English",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English verbs",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Hindi terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
        "Terms with Catalan translations",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with Greek translations",
        "Terms with Hindi translations",
        "Terms with Italian translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Spanish translations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              62,
              75
            ]
          ],
          "text": "Are these \"statistics\" they cite verifiable, or are they just blowing smoke, trying to scare people?",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              97,
              110
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2005, Merle Haggard, “America First”, in Chicago Wind:",
          "text": "Why don't we liberate these United States? / We're the ones who need it the most / You think I'm blowing smoke? Boys, it ain't no joke / I make twenty trips a year from coast to coast",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              157,
              170
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2009 April 2, Jeffrey Goldberg, quoting Joe Klein, “Joe Klein on Netanyahu”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 19 Aug 2010:",
          "text": "Joe [Klein] calls my [Benjamin] Netanyahu interview \"more depressing than alarming, since you've got to figure that the new Israeli prime minister is mostly blowing smoke.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To speak with a lack of credibility, sense, purpose, or truth; to speak nonsense."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "credibility",
          "credibility"
        ],
        [
          "sense",
          "sense"
        ],
        [
          "purpose",
          "purpose"
        ],
        [
          "truth",
          "truth"
        ],
        [
          "nonsense",
          "nonsense"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(originally US) To speak with a lack of credibility, sense, purpose, or truth; to speak nonsense."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "blow smoke up someone's ass"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-blow smoke.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3c/En-au-blow_smoke.ogg/En-au-blow_smoke.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/En-au-blow_smoke.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "nonsense"
    },
    {
      "word": "deceive"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "lang_code": "bg",
      "roman": "govorja prazni prikazki",
      "sense": "idiomatic",
      "tags": [
        "usually"
      ],
      "word": "говоря празни приказки"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "english": "deception",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "lang_code": "bg",
      "roman": "hvărljam prah v očite",
      "sense": "idiomatic",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "translation": "deception",
      "word": "хвърлям прах в очите"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "english": "deception",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "lang_code": "bg",
      "roman": "hvărlja prah v očite",
      "sense": "idiomatic",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "translation": "deception",
      "word": "хвърля прах в очите"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "lang_code": "ca",
      "sense": "idiomatic",
      "word": "marejar la perdiu"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "idiomatic",
      "word": "höpöttää"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "idiomatic",
      "word": "jaaritella"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "idiomatic",
      "word": "jauhaa"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "idiomatic",
      "word": "puhua joutavia"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "idiomatic",
      "word": "parler pour ne rien dire"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "lang_code": "el",
      "roman": "ríchno stáchti sta mátia",
      "sense": "idiomatic",
      "word": "ρίχνω στάχτη στα μάτια"
    },
    {
      "code": "hi",
      "lang": "Hindi",
      "lang_code": "hi",
      "note": "आँख में धूल झोंकना (to deceive, literally “shove dust/smoke in eyes”)",
      "sense": "idiomatic"
    },
    {
      "code": "hi",
      "lang": "Hindi",
      "lang_code": "hi",
      "note": "चूना लगाना (cūnā lagānā, literally “apply lime (material)”)",
      "sense": "idiomatic"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "idiomatic",
      "word": "parlare a vanvera"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "idiomatic",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "wciskać kit"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "idiomatic",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "wcisnąć kit"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "note": "гнать пургу́ (gnatʹ purgú, literally “drive the blizzard”)",
      "sense": "idiomatic"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "note": "поро́ть чепуху́ (porótʹ čepuxú, literally “flog the nonsense”)",
      "sense": "idiomatic"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "idiomatic",
      "word": "meter floro"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "idiomatic",
      "word": "florear"
    }
  ],
  "word": "blow smoke"
}

Download raw JSONL data for blow smoke meaning in All languages combined (5.8kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-09-28 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-09-02 using wiktextract (1a05e46 and e3d6d4e). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.