the.com/blow
A word that can hit you, kiss you, ruin your nose, or wreck your weekend.
means To force air from the mouth, deliver a strike, or — in slang — be terrible, depending entirely on context.
from From Old English blawan, to breathe or puff; the punch meaning arrived later, possibly from a separate Germanic root for striking.
Twin wordsTwo unrelated Old roots collapsed into one spelling.
Wind linkSame family as bladder, blast, and flatulence.
Slang creepThis blows meaning bad is mid-20th-century American.