blow smoke

verb

To speak with a lack of credibility, sense, purpose, or truth; to speak nonsense.

“Are these "statistics" they cite verifiable, or are they just blowing smoke, trying to scare people?”

Similar
blow smoke up someone's assnonsensedeceive
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Meanings

verbblow smoke (third-person singular simple present blows smoke, present participle blowing smoke, simple past blew smoke, past participle blown smoke)

present singular third person blows smoke · participle present blowing smoke · past blew smoke · participle past blown smoke

  1. To speak with a lack of credibility, sense, purpose, or truth; to speak nonsense.

    Are these "statistics" they cite verifiable, or are they just blowing smoke, trying to scare people?

    2 more examples

    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

    2005, Merle Haggard, “America First”, in Chicago Wind

    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."

    2009 April 2, Jeffrey Goldberg, quoting Joe Klein, “Joe Klein on Netanyahu”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 19 Aug 2010

    Synonyms: blow smoke up someone's ass, nonsense, deceive

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo speak with a lack of credibility, sense, purpose, or truth; to speak nonsense.

Similar
blow smoke up someone's assnonsensedeceive
Also see
blow smoke up someone's ass

Origin

By shortening of the full expression blow smoke up someone's ass, deemed less vulgar.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian говоря празни приказки, хвърлям прах в очите
  • говоря празни приказки (govorja prazni prikazki)idiomatic
  • хвърлям прах в очите (hvărljam prah v očite)idiomatic
  • хвърля прах в очите (hvărlja prah v očite)idiomatic
Catalan marejar la perdiu
  • marejar la perdiuidiomatic
Finnish höpöttää, jaaritella
  • höpöttääidiomatic
  • jaaritellaidiomatic
  • jauhaaidiomatic
  • puhua joutaviaidiomatic
French parler pour ne rien dire
  • parler pour ne rien direidiomatic
Greek ρίχνω στάχτη στα μάτια
  • ρίχνω στάχτη στα μάτια (ríchno stáchti sta mátia)idiomatic
Italian parlare a vanvera
  • parlare a vanveraidiomatic
Polish wciskać kit, wcisnąć kit
  • wciskać kitidiomatic
  • wcisnąć kitidiomatic
Spanish meter floro, florear
  • meter floroidiomatic
  • florearidiomatic
Cite this entry
APA

blow smoke. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blow%20smoke

MLA

“blow smoke.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blow%20smoke. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “blow smoke,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blow%20smoke.

Source: blow smoke on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.