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a nod's as good as a wink to a blind bat

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Phrase

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a nod's as good as a wink to a blind bat

  1. (simile, colloquial) The idea/proposed action is inconsequential to the current situation.
    • 1969, Monty Python's Flying Circus, "Nudge Nudge", a sketch from the third episode of the British comedy series, first broadcast on the BBC on 19th October 1969, featuring Eric Idle and Terry Jones as two strangers in a pub. Conversation:
      – Idle: Is your wife a… a goer… eh? Know what I mean? Know what I mean? Nudge nudge. Nudge nudge. Know what I mean? Say no more. Know what I mean?
      – Jones: I beg your pardon?
      – Idle: Your wife… does she, er, does she ‘go’… eh? eh? eh? Know what I mean, know what I mean? Nudge nudge. Say no more.
      – Jones: Well, she sometimes ‘goes’, yes.
      – Idle: I bet she does. I bet she does. I bet she does. Know what I mean? Know what I mean? Nudge nudge.
      – Jones: I’m sorry, I don’t quite follow you.
      – Idle: Follow me. Follow me. And I like that. That’s good. A nod’s as good as a wink to a blind bat, eh?
    • 1983, Raymond Carver, 'Cathedral' (short story where a blind man visits a couple at their home):
      I shook my head. He couldn't see that, though. A wink is the same as a nod to a blind man.