blow smoke
Speak empty flattery
To blow smoke is to deceive, exaggerate, or speak without substance—creating a verbal fog that obscures reality.
Someone blowing smoke offers empty flattery, makes promises they won't keep, or talks impressively while saying nothing meaningful: Don't blow smoke up my ass—tell me what's really going on.
The image suggests exhaled smoke that looks substantial but dissipates into nothing.
- deceiveCause false belief
- misleadCause false belief
- bluffCalculated false front
- cloudAtmospheric water vapor mass
- smokescreenConcealment through misdirection
pull the wool · fabricate · equivocate · obfuscate · bullshit · hot air · fast talk · prevaricate · con · conceal · distract · snow job · string along · hustle · bamboozle · ruse · talk out of · exaggerate
- lay it on thickexaggerate, overstate, embellish, ham it up, overact
blow smokespeak plainly
straight talk · tell it like it is · tell the truth · lay it on the line · be honest
blow smokedeliver the goods
Fulfill what was promised
walk the walk · back it up · prove oneself · put up or shut up · mean business
blow, smoke, smoking, blown, smoked, blowing, smoker, blower, smokers