suck and blow

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

suck and blow (third-person singular simple present sucks and blows, present participle sucking and blowing, simple past sucked and blew, past participle sucked and blown)

1. (Canada, UK, idiomatic) To perform two incompatible actions; to hold views which are in contradiction.
   • 2003 September 25, Boris Johnson, “The least said about Lib Dems, the better”, in Telegraph, UK, retrieved 28 May 2018:

     It is called the Liberal Democratic Party, and it beats our old cleaner, because it can suck and blow at once. They have it both ways. They are like weird hermaphroditic parrotfish, changing sex at will.

   • 2008 June 4, “Doctor quits over dispute on whether to treat Winnipeg man”, in CBC News, Canada, retrieved 28 May 2018:

     Kravetsky said the hospital's position is contradictory.
     "They suck and blow at the same time," Kravetsky said outside court on Tuesday.
     "Their position is that he's suffering no damages because he's not cognizant, and yet … they describe torture which reflects a person having been tortured intentionally or suffering severe pain, so which is it?"

   • 2015 July 2, Norris McDonald, “F1, IndyCar and NASCAR - more going on off the track than on”, in The Star, Toronto, Canada, retrieved 28 May 2018:

     We all know that NASCAR came out in support of South Carolina’s decision (and Alabama’s) to remove the Confederate flag from the front of its legislative building. […] But in a classic case of trying to suck and blow at the same time, Daytona Speedway (which is owned by the same people who won NASCAR) will not ban the Confederate flag from its infield at this weekend’s races.

   • 2018 February 27, Lizzy Buchan, “Brexit is like 'giving up a three-course meal for a packet of crisps', says former top Government trade official”, in Independent, UK, retrieved 28 May 2018:

     "You can't suck and blow at once, as they say, we're going to have to come out of the customs union in order to be able to do free trade deals," he said.

Usage notes

• Often used in the proverb: You can't suck and blow at the same time.

Translations

perform two incompatible actions

• Spanish: soplar y sorber, no puede ser (es)

See also

• blow hot and cold
• have one's cake and eat it too