To pretend not to see something that would not normally be condoned

This time the policeman gave me the benefit of the doubt and turned a blind eye to my assumed infraction

Per questa volta il poliziotto mi ha concesso il beneficio del dubbio e ha chiuso un occhio sulla mia presunta infrazione

The cathouse madam paid the sheriff $ 1,000 a month to look the other way

La tenutaria del bordello clandestino dava € 1.000 al mese al commissario perché chiudesse un occhio

During his secret meeting with a mafia boss, the sergeant came flat out that he wanted a $ 5.000 bribe to look the other way

Durante un incontro segreto con un capo-mafia, il maresciallo disse chiaro e tondo che voleva una bustarella di € 5.000 per far finta di non vedere

Legend has it that this expression refers to the behavior of Admiral Horatio Nelson during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. Nelson, who had lost an eye in a previous battle, was second-in-command and deliberately ignored the signal for the British fleet to retreat by putting the telescope to his blind eye and claiming to see no signal. Thanks in part to this decision, the battle was won