Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(orig. US) a boaster, a loud and egocentric talker.

1809		A.B. Lindsley Yankee Notions 57: Damn me, but I am glad old Blowhard has come to his senses.
1829		Westmorland Gaz. 26 Sept. 4/5: It was clear that old Blowhard had at first taken him for one of our own cruisers.
1837		‘Nights At Sea’ Bentley’s Misc. May 476: A reg’lar smart, active, young blowhard of a maintopman.
1840		T. Haliburton Letter-bag of the Great Western (1873) 120: I have often heard missus (or rather I should say Mrs. Rackitt) often call Markiss Blowhard a villain behind his back.
1853		T. Haliburton Sam Slick’s Wise Saws I 111: Did you never hear of ‘Old Blowhard?’.
1867		Weekly New Mexican 13 Apr. 2: The blow-hard at the handle of the Gazette’s bellows.
1876		B. Harte Gabriel Conroy II 48: The eloquent Mr. Blowhard and the persuasive Mr. Windygust .
1880		Hardy Trumpet-Major 269: Bob’s temper began to rise. ‘Don’t you talk so large, about your pinioning, my man [...] ’ ‘Now or never, young blow-hard,’ interrupted his informant .
1880		Bulletin (Sydney) 28 Aug. 9/1: Mr Airey, the former Parliamentary blowhard.
1885		C.F. Lummis letter 5 Jan. in Byrkit Letters from the Southwest (1989) 227: The typical blow-hard and ba-a-ad man of the whole west.
1896		Regiment 9 May 88/3: American nicknames for soldiers : ‘Old Blowhard,’ ‘Old Jack,’ ‘Rusty Nail’ ‘Pewter Foot,’ ‘Old Hickory’.
1897		Lincoln Co. Leader (Toledo, OR) 25 Mar. 4/2: A most persistent and overbearing blowhard.
1903		Bulletin (Sydney) 17 Dec. 22/1: An’ w’en ole Blowhard meets me goin’ to town, / And steers me gently to a private bar / To pour out politics an’ good ‘three star’ / Instead o’ passin’ me with ’orty frown.
1907		W.M. Raine Bucky O’Connor (1910) 48: He’s the worst blowhard ever.
1915		Bulletin (Sydney) 1 July Red Page/1: The tight little island [New York] wasn’t going to take any chances with Germany unless she could possibly help it. John Bull was a great ‘blowhard,’ and that was all there was to it.
1922		S. Lewis Babbitt (1974) 54: Yuh, you’re an old blow-hard, Georgie.
1931		B. Lubbock Bully Hayes 25: That pesky little blow-hard had us all beat.
1934		B. Appel Brain Guy 84: Blowhard, McMann.
1955		B. Schulberg On the Waterfront (1964) 67: Willie was a young blowhard always cadging drinks.
1963		M. Braly Shake Him Till He Rattles (1964) 7: What’s an old blowhard like you doing around North Beach?
1978		S. King Stand (1990) 482: The boy impressed him as a frightened blowhard. A frightened blowhard could be a very dangerous man.
1987		T. Wolfe Bonfire of the Vanities 535: You were a ridiculous fat blowhard at Buckley and you’re a ridiculous fat blowhard now.
1993		T. Jones Pugilist at Rest 83: I was a real Marine, not some rear-echelon blowhard.
2000		Guardian Rev. 11 Feb. 13: Emotionally stunted blowhards like Puff Daddy, Jay Z, Method Man et al.
2005		Mad mag. Jan. 36: Political fat cats and media blowhards.
2009		L. McIlvanney All the Colours 308: [T]his blowhard at the bar starts riding the guy, cracking funnies.
2011		D.R. Pollock Devil All the Time 203: ‘[D]don’t you worry about that pus-gutted blowhard’.
2015		http://grey-magazine.com July 🌐 Sometimes I feel like a bully, a cheap blowhard enforcing petty rule.
2017		T. Spicer Good Girl Stripped Bare 249: A charming, eccentric blowhard from Brisbane.
2021		J. Ellroy Widespread Panic 57: Blustery blowhards blasted and blacklisted.