Look the other way/turn a blind eye to /close your eyes to

Question

Hi teachers~~It seems like these three expressions can be used interchangeably in terms of intentionally ignoring  something bad, but I am not sure of it.'look the other way/turn a blind eye to something/close your eyes to something'Any suggestions?Thank you in advance~~

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

pen slide 883It seems like these three expressions can be used interchangeably in terms of intentionally ignoring something bad, but I am not sure of it.

That is about right.

"Turn a blind eye" is cliche, but as such it is the least apt to be confused with any literal meaning. It is a reference to the then one-eyed Admiral Nelson of Trafalgar fame, by the way, although he was not the first to use the phrase.

"Look the other way" is appropriate for someone who should properly be expected to look right at some wrongdoing, like a cop who allows drug dealing on his beat.

"To close one's eyes to something" is to "bury one's head in the sand" (an ancient cliche referring to the supposed behavior of the ostrich), to wilfully ignore something bad, such as a character flaw in a loved one. You "see no evil", like the wise Japanese monkey (of the trio who see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil).

Look the other way/turn a blind eye to /close your eyes to

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