Definitions for turning a blind eye
turn·ing a blind eye

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1. Turning a blind eye

   Turning a blind eye is an idiom describing the ignoring of undesirable information. Although the Oxford English Dictionary records usage of the phrase as early as 1698, the phrase to turn a blind eye is often falsely attributed to an incident in the life of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson. Nelson was blinded in one eye early in his Royal Navy career. During the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 the cautious Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, in overall command of the British forces, sent a signal to Nelson's forces ordering them to discontinue the action. Naval orders were transmitted via a system of signal flags at that time. When this order was brought to the more aggressive Nelson's attention, he lifted his telescope up to his blind eye, saying, "I have a right to be blind sometimes. I really do not see the signal," and most of his forces continued to press home the attack. The frigates supporting the line-of-battle ships did break off, in one case suffering severe losses in the retreat.There is a misconception that the order was to be obeyed at Nelson's discretion, but this is contradicted by the fact that it was a general order to all the attacking ships (some of whom did break off), and that later that day Nelson openly stated that he had "fought contrary to orders". Sir Hyde Parker was recalled in disgrace and Nelson appointed Commander-in-Chief of the fleet following the battle.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Turning a blind eye

   Turning a blind eye is an idiom describing the ignoring of undesirable information. The phrase to turn a blind eye is attributed to an incident in the life of Admiral Horatio Nelson. Nelson was blinded in one eye early in his Royal Navy career. In 1801, during the Battle of Copenhagen cautious Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, in overall command of the British forces, sent a signal to Nelson's forces giving him discretion to withdraw. Naval orders were transmitted via a system of signal flags at that time. When this order was given to the more aggressive Nelson's attention, he lifted his telescope up to his blind eye, said "I really do not see the signal", and his forces continued to press home the attack. Despite the popular belief that he was disobeying orders, the signal gave Nelson permission to withdraw at his discretion. Even at the time, some of the people on his ship may have believed otherwise as they were unaware of the exact content of the signal.

How to pronounce turning a blind eye?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say turning a blind eye in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of turning a blind eye in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of turning a blind eye in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of turning a blind eye in a Sentence

1. Marise Payne:

   Turning a blind eye to all human rights violations means an acceptance of behavior that undermines the foundations of international peace and stability. Where there is no challenge, there is no progress.

2. Norihiro Fujito:

   People who sold shares in the summer on concerns about slowdown in China are buying back. But they are turning a blind eye to the poor state of economic fundamentals.

3. Norihiro Fujito:

   Share prices are boosted by ample liquidity. Chinese authorities are desperate to support share prices while the European Central Bank has also clearly indicated an easing in December, people who sold shares in the summer on concerns about slowdown in China are buying back. But they are turning a blind eye to the poor state of economic fundamentals.

4. Miyoko Sakashita:

   The federal government’s turning a blind eye as offshore fracking threatens to poison our beautiful beaches and coastal waters, we need offshore fracking stopped immediately before chemical contamination or an oil spill devastates California’s coastal communities and kills sea otters and other endangered marine wildlife.

5. Chris Cabrera:

   We have a lot of agents quarantined right now, which adds to our problem, on top of agents who are sick with COVID, so we’re concerned about catching it ourselves, we’re concerned about our families and coworkers and it just seems everyone's turning a blind eye to it when we have a real situation down here.

References

1. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turning_A_Blind_Eye
2. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=turning a blind eye