hot air
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Empty talk, boasting, threats, etc.; bombast. Hence, a hot-air merchant* one whose "vaporizings" are "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"; a declamatory windbag.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “hot air” mean?
Empty talk, boasting, threats, etc.; bombast. Hence, a hot-air merchant* one whose "vaporizings" are "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"; a declamatory windbag.
Is “hot air” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.