Meaning of the English Idiom Turn a Blind Eye
To turn a blind eye to something means to choose to ignore or overlook it; to refuse
to acknowledge something, especially something improper or illegal; in other words, to pretend
not to notice something.
A near-synonym for 'turn a blind eye' is 'close one's eyes to something' (or shut one's eyes
to something).
You can often use them interchangeably, however, they may be used in slightly different circumstances.
Examples Of Use
“I’m going to turn a blind eye this time but don’t let it happen again!”
“The DOJ has been turning a blind eye to this official’s crimes but now he’s gone
too far.”
“The police are choosing to close their eyes to the ongoing corruption inside their
department.”
“No longer can we turn a blind eye to health concerns.
The current pandemic affects us all.”
"Closing his eyes to the danger, Don began to ski down the hill."
Note that in the last example 'turned a blind eye' would sound strange.
That's because turn a blind eye is usually used to refer to an illegal or improper activity
or behavior.
Origin of Idiom
The original version of this idiom combined an earlier variation ‘turn the blind eye’
with the companion idiom ‘turn the deaf ear.’
Turn the blind eye and the deaf ear were in use by the 1600s but ‘turn the deaf ear’
may have originated first.
Its use alone is seen frequently in print during the 1600s.
By the 1800s, turn the blind eye was being used alone.
The modern idiom may have been popularized by a story about the 1801 Siege of Copenhagen,
in which Lord Horatio Nelson, who was second in command of the British fleet, had been
ordered to withdraw but pretended that he did not see the withdrawal signal from the
flagship.
Nelson had been blinded in one eye in a previous war with France so he purposely placed the
telescope on his blind eye saying, “I see no signal.”
He went on to attack and achieve a major victory.
Later, he is said to have quipped to his commander, “I have only one eye.
I have a right to be blind sometimes.”