What does the phrase “Words are But Wind” mean?
A good day to you, Katya Koroleva.
In the phrase “words are but wind”, words are being compared to wind. The wind is flowing and once gone it can’t be brought back, likewise, the words that already flowed out of our mouths are words we cannot take back.
It is not suggesting that the words have an impactful force, rather it is insinuating that the words are unsteady and unreliable. Like the wind that we can't hold on to, someone's words may sometimes be unreliable and untrustworthy.
This phrase was used by Shakespeare in “The Comedy of Errors”. He highlighted in this play that words are something that can’t be seen (just like the wind) and we should focus on people’s actions instead.