[blood] See: DRAW BLOOD, FLESH AND BLOOD, IN COLD BLOOD, IN ONE’S BLOOD or INTO ONE’S BLOOD, MAKE ONE’S BLOOD BOIL or MAKE THE BLOOD BOIL, NEW BLOOD, OUT OF ONE’S BLOOD, RUN IN THE BLOOD or RUN IN THE FAMILY, SPORTING BLOOD, SWEAT BLOOD, WARM ONE’S BLOOD.

[blood and thunder]{n. phr.} The violence and bloodshed of stories that present fast action rather than understanding of character. •/Crime movies and westerns usually have lots of blood and thunder./?—?Often used like an adjective. •/John likes to watch blood-and-thunder stories on television./

[blood freezes] See: BLOOD RUNS COLD.

[blood is thicker than water] Persons of the same family are closer to one another than to others; relatives are favored or chosen over outsiders. •/Mr. Jones hires his relatives to work in his store. Blood is thicker than water./

[blood runs cold] also [blood freezes] or [blood turns to ice] You are chilled or shivering from great fright or horror; you are terrified or horrified.?—?Usually used with a possessive. •/The horror movie made the children’s blood run cold./ •/Mary’s blood froze when she had to walk through the cemetery at night./ •/Oscar’s blood turned to ice when he saw the shadow pass by outside the window./ Compare: HAIR STAND ON END, THE CREEPS.

[blood turns to ice] See: BLOOD RUNS COLD.

[bloody] See: SCREAM BLOODY MURDER.

[blot out]{v. phr.} 1. To obstruct; cover; obscure. •/The high-rise building in front of our apartment house blots out the view of the ocean./ 2. To wipe out of one’s memory. •/Jane can’t remember the details when she was attacked in the streets; she blotted it out of her memory./

[blow] See: AT A BLOW, BODY BLOW, COME TO BLOWS, IT’S AN ILL WIND THAT BLOWS NOBODY GOOD, WAY THE WIND BLOWS or HOW THE WIND BLOWS.

[blow a fuse] or [blow a gasket] or [blow one’s top] or [blow one’s stack] {v. phr.}, {slang} To become extremely angry; express rage in hot words. •/When Mr. McCarthy’s son got married against his wishes, he blew a fuse./ •/When the umpire called Joe out at first, Joe blew his top and was sent to the showers./ Syn.: BLOW UP(1b), FLIP ONE’S LID, LOSE ONE’S TEMPER. Compare: BLOW OFF STEAM(2).

[blow great guns] See: GREAT GUNS.

[blow hot and cold]{v. phr.} To change your ways or likes often; be fickle or changeable. •/Tom blows hot and cold about coming out for the baseball team; he cannot decide./ •/Mary blew hot and cold about going to college; every day she changed her mind./ •/The boys will get tired of Ann’s blowing hot and cold./

[blow in]{v.}, {slang} To arrive unexpectedly or in a carefree way. •/The house was already full of guests when Bill blew in./ Compare SHOW UP(3).

[blow into]{v.}, {slang} To arrive at (a place) unexpectedly or in a carefree way. •/Bill blows into college at the last minute after every vacation./ •/Why Tom, when did you blow into town?/

[blow off steam] See: LET OFF STEAM.

[blow one’s brains out]{v. phr.} 1. To shoot yourself in the head. •/Mr. Jones lost all his wealth, so he blew his brains out./ 2. {slang} To work very hard; overwork yourself. •/The boys blew their brains out to get the stage ready for the play./ •/Mary is not one to blow her brains out./ Compare: BREAK ONE’S NECK.

[blow one’s cool]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {informal} To lose your composure or self-control. •/Whatever you say to the judge in court, make sure that you don’t blow your cool./

[blow one’s lines] or [fluff one’s lines] {v. phr.}, {informal} To forget the words you are supposed to speak while acting in a play. •/The noise backstage scared Mary and she blew her lines./

[blow one’s mind]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {informal}; {originally from the drug culture} 1. To become wildly enthusiastic over something as if understanding it for the first time in an entirely new light. •/Read Lyall Watson’s book "Supernature", it will simply blow your mind!/ 2. To lose one’s ability to function, as if due to an overdose of drugs, •/Joe is entirely incoherent?—?he seems to have blown his mind./ Contrast: BLOW ONE’S COOL.

[blow one’s own horn] or [toot one’s own horn] {v. phr.}, {slang} To praise yourself; call attention to your own skill, intelligence, or successes; boast. •/People get tired of a man who is always blowing his own horn./ •/A person who does things well does not have to toot his own horn; his abilities will be noticed by others./

[blow one’s top]{v. phr.} To become very excited, angry, hysterical, or furious. •/"No need to blow your top, Al," his wife said, "just because you lost a few dollars."/

[blow out]{v. phr.} 1. To cease to function; fail; explode (said of tires and fuses). •/The accident occurred when Jim’s tire blew out on the highway./ •/The new dishwasher blew out the fuses in the whole house./ 2. To extinguish. •/Jane blew out her birthday cake candles before offering pieces to the guests./

[blowout]{n.} 1. An explosion of a tire or a fuse. •/Jim’s van veered sharply to the right after his car had a blowout./ 2. A big party. •/After graduation from college, my son and his friends staged a huge blowout./

[blow over]{v.} To come to an end; pass away with little or no bad effects. •/The sky was black, as if a bad storm were coming, but it blew over and the sun came out./ •/They were bitter enemies for a while, but the quarrel blew over./ •/He was much criticized for the divorce, but it all blew over after a few years./

[blow taps]{v. phr.} To sound the final bugle call of the evening in a camp or military base. •/After taps is blown the boy scouts go to their bunks to sleep./

[blow the gaff]{v. phr.} To open one’s mouth to reveal a secret. •/When Al cheated on his wife, his younger brother blew the gaff on him./

[blow the lid off]{v. phr.}, {informal} Suddenly to reveal the truth about a matter that has been kept as a secret either by private persons or by some governmental agency. •/The clever journalists blew the lid off the Watergate cover-up./

[blow the whistle on]{v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To inform against; betray. •/The police caught one of the bank robbers, and he blew the whistle on two more./ 2. To act against, stop, or tell people the secrets of (crime or lawlessness). •/The mayor blew the whistle on gambling./ •/The police blew the whistle on hot reading./

[blow up]{v.} 1a. To break or destroy or to be destroyed by explosion. •/He blew up the plane by means of a concealed bomb./ •/The fireworks factory blew up when something went wrong in an electric switch./ 1b. {informal} To explode with anger or strong feeling; lose control of yourself. •/When Father bent the nail for the third time, he blew up./ Compare: BLOW A FUSE. 1c. To stop playing well in a game or contest, usually because you are in danger of losing or are tired; {especially}: To lose skill or control in pitching baseball. •/The champion blew up and lost the tennis match./ •/Our team was behind but the pitcher on the other team blew up and we got the winning runs./ 2. {informal} To be ruined as if by explosion; be ended suddenly. •/The whole scheme for a big party suddenly blew up./ 3a. To pump full of air; inflate. •/He blew his tires up at a filling station./ 3b. To make (something) seem bigger or important. •/It was a small thing to happen but the newspapers had blown it up until it seemed important./ 4. To bring on bad weather; also, to come on as bad weather. •/The wind had blown up a storm./ •/A storm had blown up./ 5. To copy in bigger form; enlarge. •/He blew up the snapshot to a larger size./