To turn a blind eye
Meaning: To deliberately ignore something you know is wrong.
Language: English
Literally: To look with the eye that cannot see
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: Legend says Admiral Nelson, ordered to withdraw at Copenhagen in 1801, raised the telescope to his blind eye and declared he saw no signal.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: faire la morte — literally: to play dead
- Greek: Κάνω την πάπια — literally: To play the duck
- Italian: Fare orecchie da mercante — literally: To make merchant's ears
More idioms — Body & Senses
- To bite the bullet — To face something painful with gritted courage.
- Hablar por los codos — To talk nonstop.
- Costar un ojo de la cara — To be outrageously expensive.
- Quedarse de piedra — To be stunned speechless.
- 발이 넓다 (bari neopda) — To be extremely well-connected.
- Å ha bein i nesa — To be assertive and able to stand your ground.
More English idioms
- Hair of the dog — A morning drink taken to cure a hangover.
- To go cold turkey — To quit a habit abruptly and completely.
- To cut the mustard — To meet the required standard; to succeed.
- To chew the fat — To chat idly and at length.
- By the skin of your teeth — By the narrowest possible margin.
- To rain on someone's parade — To spoil someone's plans or happy moment.
From our proverbs
- A nod is as good as a wink — Can be understood without further explanation.
- April showers bring May flowers — (by extension, figurative) A period of discomfort or hardship can provide the basis for a…
- A stick in a bundle cannot be broken — Unity provides strength; individual elements easily fractured become resilient when bound…