Blind Freddy
Meanings
name
- An imaginary incapacitated person held up as an archetype of incapacity: what blind Freddy can see (understand) must be very obvious.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
The use of "Blind Freddy" meaning "anyone can see..." dates to at least 1907 Theories concerning actual persons called Blind Freddy include reference to: * A blind hawker called Freddy or Freddie who lived in Sydney in the 1920s. * A police officer, Sir Frederick William Pottinger, who was in charge of the Lachlan district. The success of bushranger Ben Hall in evading capture there in 1862 is claimed to have earned Pottinger the nickname "Blind Freddy". However, no contemporary evidence that Pottinger was so called exists. Various Australian individuals were known as "Blind Freddy" or "Blind Freddie" from at least 1902, in apparent reference to an actual physical infirmity
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