turn a blind eye

Meaning

To deliberately or knowingly ignore, overlook, or refuse to acknowledge something, especially when improper or unpleasant; to look the other way.

Synonyms

connive

wink

😉

wink at

Translations

fermer les yeux

ein Auge zudrücken

fermer les yeux sur

hacer la vista gorda

fazer vista grossa

chiudere un occhio

passare sopra

يتآمر

door de vingers zien

ignorar

fazer de conta que não viu

passar ao lado

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈtɜːn‿ə ˌblaɪnd ˈaɪ/

Etymology

Probably from the idea of a person turning to look at something but not seeing it, as if their eyes are blind.
The term is frequently claimed to originate from an incident during the First Battle of Copenhagen on 2 April 1801, when Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758–1805) was ordered by Admiral Hyde Parker (1739–1807) through signal flags to discontinue naval action against a force of the Dano-Norwegian Navy. Nelson, who had been blinded in one eye early in his career, said to his flag captain Thomas Foley (1757–1833), “You know, Foley, I have only one eye—I have a right to be blind sometimes.” He then put his telescope to his blind eye and, remarking “I really do not see the signal,” continued the assault which ended in a British victory. However, this is not the source of the term as the Oxford English Dictionary records uses dating to the 17th and 18th centuries.