English

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Etymology

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Compare close one's eyes.

Verb

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close one eye (third-person singular simple present closes one eye, present participle closing one eye, simple past and past participle closed one eye)

  1. (Malaysia, Singapore, idiomatic) to look the other way, to deliberately ignore or overlook (a mistake or transgression).
    • 2019 November, Stella Ko, “Photographer subverts Singapore's 'sterile' reputation by capturing dream-like images of the city-state”, in CNN[1]:
      "It's also a distinctly Singaporean trait to carry on with whatever you can get away with," he added. "As long as the authorities close one eye."