A: Do you know that Hugo was taking money out of your pockets when he offered to do the laundry?

    B: Yes, I do. I turned a blind eye because he was my sister’s child.

    Note: This idiom means to “refuse to acknowledge something you know is real or legit.” British admiral Horatio Nelson is supposed to have said this when wilfully disobeying a signal to withdraw during a naval engagement. In the naval battle of Copenhagen in 1801 Nelson led the attack of the British fleet against a joint Danish/Norwegian enemy. The British fleet of the day was commanded by admiral Sir Hyde Parker. The two men disagreed over tactics and at one point Parker sent a signal for Nelson to disengage. Nelson was convinced he could win if he persisted and that’s when he “turned a blind eye.”