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East Dorset Sailing Club
Celebrating 150 years - 1875 - 2025

Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 7

Turn a blind eye

To “turn a blind eye” means to ignore or pretend not to see something.

This phrase comes from the story of British Admiral Horatio Nelson during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, where he reportedly pretended not to see a flagship’s signal to retreat by putting his glass eye to his telescope.

Written by Lindsey