Contributor: Richard Flynn Country: British English  All idioms have been editorially reviewed, and submitted idioms may have been edited for correctness and completeness.
If you have a question about idioms, ask us about it in our Idioms Discussion Forum. If you know of an idiom that you would like to be listed here, please use our online form to suggest an idiom. See also: 'A nod is as good as a wink' expresses the idea that, to a person who is ready to understand or undertake something, any subtle signalling of it is sufficient. The context is usually of some undertaking that is borderline illegal or of sexual innuendo. This proverbial saying sounds as if it might be quite modern but it is in fact a 16th century phrase originating in England. The longer version of the phrase is 'a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse'. It might seem that this is just an elaboration of the shorter version, but it appears that the 'blind horse' version was in fact the original. The earliest examples of the proverb in print all give the fuller version, for example, in the Letters of the English lawyer and writer Joseph Ritson, February 1793:
It seems intuitive to interpret the longer version as meaning 'neither a nod nor a wink has any purpose, both being equally pointless'. Nevertheless, the context of the early uses has it being used with the same apparent meaning as the short version, that is, 'you may nod or wink - I will take your meaning either way'. During the 19th century the expression began to be shortened and the blind horse was left at home. Citations from that period use the form 'a nod is as good as a wink etc.', which clearly indicates that the later usage was simply a shorthand way of writing the original. More recently, the expression has gained currency in the form of "a nod is as good as a wink to a blind bat", which Eric Idle used in his 'Nudge, nudge' sketch in Monty Python's Flying Circus. The character Idle played was a nonsense-talking fool who came out with a string of meaningless innuendos. The choice of bat was knowing, as bats are generally regarded as blind and so calling the creature a blind bat emphasized the ridiculousness of the character's gabble... and, before anyone writes in, I know that bats aren't really blind. See also: the List of Proverbs. Nghĩa là gì: eye-wink eye-wink /'aiwiɳk/
proverb It is unnecessary to explain or elaborate upon something because one already understands or knows about it in full. No need to tell me what you were up to last night—a nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse. See also: blind, good, horse, nod, to, wink Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved. Prov. You cannot get people to take a hint if they are determined not to. Jill: I keep hinting to the boss that I deserve a raise, but he doesn't seem to get the point. Jane: I'm not surprised. A nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse. See also: blind, good, horse, nod, to, wink McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content. Link to this page: <a href="https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/nod+is+as+good+as+a+wink+to+a+blind+horse">nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse</a>
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