blower

Everyday

1. A machine or person that blows air, such as a leaf blower, a snow blower or a fan heater. tree →
2. (UK, informal, old-fashioned slang) The telephone: «Get on the blower to the plumber.» tree →
3. Someone who blows something: a glass-blower shapes hot glass by blowing into it. tree →
4. (in «whistle-blower») A person who tells the public or the authorities about wrongdoing in a company or organisation. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life people use leaf blowers in autumn and snow blowers in winter (Canada, the northern USA). In British TV and stories «on the blower» means on the phone. On the news a whistle-blower is a worker who reveals cheating or danger. Phrases: «leaf blower», «on the blower», «glass-blower», «whistle-blower».

Examples

• The neighbour's leaf blower is very noisy. tree →
• In Canada we clear the drive with a snow blower. tree →
• Grandad said, «I'll get on the blower and ring the doctor.» tree →
• We watched a glass-blower make a blue vase. tree →
• A whistle-blower told the newspaper the factory was unsafe. tree →
• The hand dryer is a hot-air blower. tree →
• So the blower let him off, and he came down without hurt. tree →

Note

Countable noun. «Blower» for the phone is old-fashioned UK slang; children may hear it from grandparents. «Whistle-blower» is often written with a hyphen.