blow
n (physical, emotional)
coup m
→ He went to hospital after a blow to the face.
→ It was a terrible blow when he was made redundant.
to come to blows en venir aux mains
→ The representatives almost came to blows.
to strike a blow for sth rompre une lance pour qch
to be a blow to sth être un coup pour qch
→ a further blow to hopes of peace
to soften the blow, to cushion the blow amortir le choc
vb ( blew pt) ( blown pp )
[wind, gale] souffler
→ A gale was blowing.
→ A chill wind blew at the top of the hill.
→ The wind started to blow harder.
[person] souffler
→ Danny blew on his fingers to warm them.
→ Take a deep breath and blow.
(=move through the air)
Rain blew into his face. La pluie lui battait le visage.
Sand blew in our eyes. Le vent nous soufflait du sable dans les yeux.
[whistle] retentir
→ The whistle blew and the train moved forward.
[fuse] sauter
a fuse has blown un fusible a sauté
→ The fuse blew as he pressed the button.
[+trumpet, horn] souffler
to blow one's own trumpet, to blow one's own horn chanter ses propres louanges
to blow a whistle siffler
→ The referee blew his whistle.
to blow one's nose se moucher
→ He took out a handkerchief and blew his nose.
[wind]
[+sand, smoke, rain] souffler
→ A gust of wind blew snow in her face.
→ The wind blew her hair back from her forehead.
*
(=destroy)
[+chance] gâcher
→ I had probably blown my chance of getting the job.
you've blown it! tu as tout gaché!
→ Oh you fool! You've blown it!
→ It looks like you've blown it with Mary.
to blow sth to bits (with explosives)
réduire qch en miettes
→ Rival gunmen blew the city to bits.
*
[+money] claquer → My brother lent me some money and I blew the lot. → Before you blow it all on a luxury cruise, give a little thought to the future.
▲
blow away
vi s'envoler
→ He dropped a piece of paper and it blew away.
→ Her hat fell off and blew away.
(lit) chasser, faire s'envoler
→ Strong winds blew away most of the dust.
→ The wind blew the leaves away.
to be blown away by sb
(=captivated) tomber sous le charme de qn
▲
blow down
vt faire tomber, renverser
→ Many trees were blown down in the storms.
→ Their house was blown down in the hurricane.
▲
blow off
vi s'envoler
→ His hat blew off in the wind.
[+hat] emporter
→ The strong breeze blew my hat off.
to blow sth off course [+ship] faire dévier qch
to be blown off course
[person] être dévié (e) de sa route
→ We're not going to be blown off course by one result
*
(=not go with)
to blow sb off laisser qn en plan *
→ At first, Ben was annoyed. He said, "We have an agreement to get this done, and I put the time aside for it. You're blowing me off!"....;
▲
blow out
[+candle, flame] souffler
→ I blew out the candle.
[+window] briser
→ The can exploded, wrecking the kitchen and blowing out windows.
▲
blow over
vi
[trouble, argument] passer
→ Wait, and it'll all blow over.
→ they'll keep their heads down and wait for it to blow over
The matter quickly blew over. L'affaire fut vite oubliée.
▲
blow up
vi exploser, sauter
→ Their boat blew up.
→ The microwave blew up.
The house blew up. La maison a sauté.
(=destroy)
[+building, bus, plane] faire sauter
→ He was jailed for trying to blow up a plane.
The terrorists blew up a police station. Les terroristes ont fait sauter un commissariat de police.
(=inflate)
[+balloon, tyre] gonfler
→ Other than blowing up a tyre I hadn't done any car maintenance.
(=enlarge)
[+image, photo] agrandir
→ The image is blown up on a large screen.
blow-by-blow
adj
[account, commentary] minutieux (-euse)
détaillé (e)
→ She wanted a blow-by-blow account of what happened.
blow-dry
n
(=hairstyle) brushing m
A cut and blow-dry, please. Une coupe brushing, s'il vous plaît.
→ She is having a cut and blow-dry.
vt
to blow-dry sb's hair faire un brushing à qn
to blow-dry one's hair se sécher les cheveux
→ She chose to blow-dry her own hair.
blow dryer
n
(=hair dryer) sèche-cheveux m
→ Terry put toiletries, a blow-dryer and clothes in a backpack
blow job
n
* pipe f **
to give sb a blow job tailler une pipe à qn
→ He claimed she'd given him a blow job.
blow-out
n
[+tyre] éclatement m
→ A lorry travelling south had a blow-out and crashed.
(British)
*
(=big meal) gueuleton m
→ Once in a while we had a major blowout.
(Australian)
[+amount, price] augmentation f
→ ... a blowout in surgery costs.
→ ... a blow-out in the balance of payments.
blow-up
(=enlargement) agrandissement m
→ ... a grainy blowup obviously taken with a telephoto lens in bad light.
→ ... yellowing blow-ups of James Dean.
*
(=argument) engueulade f
→ It is understood he had a blow-up with coach Chris Anderson ...
→ He and Cohen appeared headed for a major blowup.
adj
[mattress, toy] gonflable
body blow
n
(=disappointment) coup m dur
→ Her resignation was a huge body blow to Tony Blair
cut and blow-dry
n coupe-brushing m
death blow , death-blow
n (fig) coup m fatal
to be a death blow to sth être un coup fatal pour qch
→ The deportations would be a death blow to the peace process ...
→ This decision is a death blow to the Argentine economy
to be dealt a death blow recevoir un coup fatal
→ The people of Hatfield went into shock as they learned their town had been dealt a death blow.
hammer blow
n (fig) coup m terrible
→ the emotional hammer blow of hearing that the bodies of his wife and daughter had been found
to deliver a hammer blow to sth porter un coup terrible à qch
→ Washington has delivered another potential hammer blow to the industry's economics