Part 12: Turn a Blind Eye
To turn a blind eye is to pretend not to notice something. It also means ignoring the facts or reality.
Here are a few examples:
(1) She knew her husband was cheating, but she decided to turn a blind eye.
(2) The teacher turned a blind eye to the students' misconduct because he hoped they would not do it again.
(3) Thugs snatched the woman's handbag, but everyone turned a blind eye.
The earliest known use of this phrase is in the legend of Horatio Nelson, a British naval officer during the Napoleonic wars. At the age of 35, he lost one of his eyes in a battle in France.
Later, in the Battle of Copenhagen of 1801, he was the second-in-command of a British fleet that fought the Danish and Swedish navy near Copenhagen.
Admiral Hyde Parker, his commander, was in a different ship and was doubtful about his army's chances of victory. He signalled Horatio not to attack.
Horatio was confident of victory, and he was determined to proceed. When Parker signalled him not to proceed, he told those in his ship, "I have only one eye. I have the right to be blind sometimes."
He looked at Parker's signal with his binoculars held against his blind eye so that he could claim he didn't see it.
He attacked the Danes and Swedes and won.
