turn a blind eye to

Idioms  

1. Deliberately overlook, ignore, as in She decided to turn a blind eye to her roommate's goings-on. This expression is believed to come from the siege of Copenhagen (1801), in which Lord Horatio Nelson, second in command of the English fleet, was ordered to withdraw but pretended not to see the flagship's signals to do so by putting his glass to the eye that had been blinded in an earlier battle. His attack led to a major victory. Also see turn a deaf ear.

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Example Sentences

He might choose to turn a blind eye to gold’s signal but that doesn’t mean investors should.

From Barron's

“We didn’t turn a blind eye to this, we invested in it. We didn’t talk about it, we leaned in.”

From Los Angeles Times

There were plenty of directors who would turn a blind eye to her, actors who knew better than to throw rocks in glass houses, who had affairs and passions of their own they kept discreet.

From Literature

I’m sort of terrified, but I also feel like I need to not turn a blind eye to it.

From Los Angeles Times

The parents’ attorney, Robert Glassman, said in a statement that camps have a responsibility to assess the safety of places where kids play, and public entities should not turn a blind eye to obviously dangerous conditions.

From Los Angeles Times