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Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast
Episode 174: Blind as a Bat
Record Date: November 20, 2022
Air Date: November 23, 2022
Intro
Dan:
Welcome to Bunny Trails, a whimsical adventure of idioms and other turns of phrase.
I’m Dan Pugh
Shauna:
And I’m Shauna Harrison
Each week we take an idiom or other turn of phrase and try to tell the story from its entry into the English language, to how it’s used today.
Opening Hook
When I don’t have on my glasses I am absolutely incapable of finding things… because I cannot see anything. Everything becomes this hazy blur of color. It’s a little like Velma from Scooby Doo. If I knock my glasses to the floor, I am incredibly careful not to move my feet and I am probably going to find them primarily by feel.
Meaning
'As Blind as a Bat' means a person is unable to see.
The phrase is sometimes used to refer to a person who won’t acknowledge something bad or uncomfortable. For this use, it is often paired with a conditional statement, such as:
“She can’t see he’s cheating on her. She’s as blind as a bat when it comes to her romantic relationships.”
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Blind as a Bat means,
Quote
Destitute of the sense of sight, whether by natural defect or by deprivation. In comparisons, as blind as a bat or †brickbat; also blind as a beetle, blind mole, blind stone
End Quote
Oxford English Dictionary includes the use of blind in this style as early as around 1000 CE with the first reference including bats occurring in the late 1500s.
John Harvey’s A discoursiue probleme concerning prophesies · 1st edition was published in 1588. It contains the phrase,
Quote
As blinde, as moules, or bats.
End Quote
https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/20224?redirectedFrom=blind+as+a+bat#eid18479962
Before we get too far into things, let’s clear up a few items.
First, what is a brickbat?
This one is easy… it’s just a piece or a chunk of brick.
Next is a theory about this phrase based on bats…
Some believe that the way bats fly - somewhat erratically and with no discernable pattern - is why people thought the creatures were blind. Therefore, the phrase came out of this idea.
Bats do seem to fly a little wildly and this may be more noticeable in the bright sunlight. However, bats’ nocturnal behaviors are where most of the beliefs about them started. Beginning in the 1300s CE, bats were lumped in with other nighttime creatures like owls and moles. They were referred to as night-birds or the flying beasts of night, and those who hate the day and love the night.
Let’s answer the obvious question… Are bats actually blind?
If we over-simplify, there are two main types of bats.
Microbats (Microchiroptera), are not blind, but their ears are of far more use to them. They utilize echolocation - a series of vocal sounds that are echoed back to them giving them information about their surroundings including prey.
Then there are Fruit bats, flying foxes, or megabats - Megachiroptera - These have large eyes that work pretty well, vision-wise.
https://www.bats.org.uk/about-bats/flight-food-and-echolocation
Both types can tell where they are going. Their flight patterns have to do with their anatomy, not their sight.
Okay, let’s get back to our phrase. We left off with that 1588 reference “as blind as moles, or bats.”
A Treasury, Or Storehouse of Similes - Both Pleasant, Delightful, and Profitable, for All Estates of Men in General : Newly Collected Into Heads and Commonplaces · Volume 2
by Robert Cawdry was published in 1609. It includes the following,
Quote
End Quote
This is an early reference using the phrase in simile form but also metaphorically. This was discussing an absence of vision, but the inability to notice certain truths.
A work by John Clarke was published in 1646. The title page reads,
Quote
End Quote
The book includes translated phrases. Here are a few,
Quote
End Quote
While not described here, this phrase was referring to blindness in a literal sense.
Up next, we have a few sharp-tongued retorts in the Portland gazette and Maine advertiser July 09, 1810 edition out of Portland, Maine. The page first discussed an Independence Day celebration then included the section, Quote
End Quote
Here are a few of the toasts,
Quote
End Quote
From The ladies' garland December 03, 1825 edition out of Harpers-Ferry, Virginia, there is a story of intrigue. Here is an excerpt,
Quote
End Quote
As with all good phrases, this one saw heavy use in political commentary and eventually ads and comics kkas well.
Here is one of the political nature in the Kansas agitator - May 04, 1893 - out of Garnett, Kansas.
Quote
End Quote
In 1908, we find one of those choice overly wordy ads that really made you feel like the world would end if you didn’t buy whatever they were selling. This is from the Carlsbad current and New Mexico sun September 25, 1908 out of Carlsbad, New Mexico.
Quote
End Quote
And to bring it all together, we also see the phrase in comic strips
Iron County record. [volume], August 04, 1922, Image 7
About Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982
This comic is called “Well, That’s Different” and includes a scene of a crowd watching a baseball game.
One man says,
Quote
His wife replies,
Further in the game, the man says,
Quote
End Quote
I have one more historical item before we move to modern phrases. I love it when something gives added context, especially when it is just by the nature of the time it was written or created. In this case, I have one more ad from The Ordway new era October 18, 1907 out of Ordway, Colorado.
Quote
End Quote
We’ll get to our modern examples, right after we take a moment to say thank you to our sponsors.
A Quick Thank You
Dan:
This episode is sponsored by our amazing Patrons on Patreon.
You can help support this educational artform and get awesome perks along the way! Tiers start at $3 a month, which get you our polls and community-only discussions, early access to the podcast, and the behind the scenes video for each episode so you can watch along as we make the show.
At $10 you’ll also get original digital artwork from Shauna once a month featuring exclusive art about an idiom or other turn of phrase. At $15, you’ll also get personal on-air recognition like Pat Rowe does every episode. And of course huge thanks goes to the top spot among our Patrons, our Dean of Learning, Mary Halsig-Lopez. Thank you so much to Mary and all of our patrons.
If you want to help create Bunny Trails week after week, whatever your budget, we are bunnytrailspod on Patreon.
That’s patreon.com/bunnytrailspod
Modern Uses
Marilyn Monroe isn’t exactly modern, but she feels modern. She’s still so iconic…
In the 1953 movie, How to Marry a Millionaire, Monroe plays the character Pola. Here is the Storyline,
Quote
Three New York models, Shatze, Pola and Loco set up in an exclusive apartment with a plan....tired of cheap men and a lack of money, they intend to use all their talents to trap and marry three millionaires. The trouble is that it's not so easy to tell the rich men from the hucksters - and even when they can, is the money really worth it? —Col Needham
End Quote
In one scene, Pola is riding in an airplane next to a man and she’s holding a book, supposedly reading it… The two have a little back and forth on the topic when he comments on her eyesight being the oddest he’d encountered as she is able to read upside down. Sheepishly, she admits that she is as blind as a bat.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045891/
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=301971914753750
It’s 1993 and one of the most-famous bats of all time is providing the world with truth, justice… and cheesy one-liners. Or at least Gotham City. Season 1 Episode 54 of the TV show Batman: The Animated Series was titled As Blind as a Bat. Here is a synopsis from IMDb,
Quote
Although temporarily blinded, Batman is still determined to stop The Penguin who is threatening the city with a prototype attack helicopter.
End Quote
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0519575/
The joys of the dark knight don’t end there. In the 1995 movie Batman Forever, the Riddler and Batman go back and forth with overly campy riddles throughout. In one scene, in the Riddler’s lair, this happens,
Quote
End Quote
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112462/characters/nm0000120
Clip - https://youtu.be/bXQ1qvW0lb0
The book, Blind as a Bat by Willard W. Whyte was originally published in 2000. The ad reads,
Quote
Blind as a Bat combines action, romance, life, death, trust, and betrayal into an exciting story of a young man whose company steps on the toes of an organization far more powerful than his own.
End Quote
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Blind_As_A_Bat/7uI9AAAACAAJ?hl=en
Meat Loaf released the song Blind As A Bat on the 2006 album Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose. Here are some of the lyrics.
Quote
I'm not afraid of the past no more
I'm not afraid and I'm bad for good
I used to dance to the devil's beat
If I could bust into hell, I would
I'm not afraid to shed all my skin
I'm not afraid of the faults you see
I'm tearing down these walls right now
They're comin' down 'cause I believe
Your love is blind, blind as a bat
The way that you're leading me home like that
Your love is blind, blind as a bat
End Quote
Bertie the Very Blind Bat is a book published in 2021 by Joanne Moore. The publisher shares this overview,
Quote
We are all a bit different and the world would be bleak if everyone was the same, not special or unique.
Despite being visually impaired, Bertie sees himself as a ‘super-bat’: nothing can stop him! Or can it?
Bertie gets into a tricky situation and starts to give up on himself. Will he find his ‘superpowers’ and prove he is a super-bat after all?
Bertie the Very Blind Bat is the first book released from 'The Bit Different Collection'.
End Quote
https://www.amazon.com/Bertie-Very-Blind-Different-Collection-ebook/dp/B09MJFNPTY
While the book doesn’t seem to contain the phrase, it came up in multiple searches. And it seems like a sweet book. The bat is adorable.
Finally, we have a fun cartoon comic by user toons on toonpool.com. Toons is from Sydney, Australia. This comic shows Dracula at the eye doctor. Can you see where this is going?
https://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/Blind%20as%20a%20bat_217174
Dan
I think for that one to work, you’d have to know that in many versions of the story Dracula can turn into a swarm of bats.
Wrap Up
This phrase was one of the best to research. While there was the occasional political reference, almost all of the things I found were used in more personal ways… just day-to-day life. Most of us have experienced moments when we temporarily were unable to see physically or when we’ve been unable to recognize a situation we were in. This phrase is silly and continues to be used in a mostly silly, cheesy, campy style. And I love it. That being said, I hope none of you feels as blind as a bat anytime soon!
Shauna:
That’s all we have time for today. If you have any thoughts on the show, or pop culture references we should have included, reach out to us on social media where we are @bunnytrailspod, or comment on our website bunnytrailspod.com
Dan:
It’s time for our Patron’s Poll:
You are joining an air band. What instrument are you playing?
Most of our patrons said they’d be the one holding everything together with their smooth bass guitar.
I have to note that Shauna, who plays the actual bass guitar, wrote that line. As someone who plays mostly brass instruments, I would have never written that line and it felt dirty to say.
So bass guitar wins, and in a tie for second place comes Air Drums and Air Keyboard.
Personally, I think I would play a mean air flute/piccolo. I could be the air band version of Jethro Tull. The band, not the agronomist for which the band is named. Though I could probably do an encore career as an agronomist if I got a little bit of extra schooling.
Shauna:
I always go for a combination of Air Guitar and Air Drums, as well as lead singer… The awesome thing about Air Bands is that it’s really easy to switch between instruments without losing anything from the sound. I think my band name would be a play-on-words… though I’d have to spend some real time mulling it over. Something like AirC/DC…
Dan:
My Air band name would be "Breath of the Mild", in homage to the game set in Hyrule and my lackluster talent levels for my air band performance.
Shauna:
Our Dean of Learning, Mary, said their air band name would be:
Quote:
…Six More Days because the world needs some recreating right now.
End Quote
Dan:
Can’t argue with that one!
If you want to take part in our silly polls and sometimes learn new things while you’re at it, head over to patreon.com/bunnytrailspod to see what we have this week!
Outro
Dan:
Thanks for joining us. We’ll talk to you again next week. Until then remember,
Together:
Words belong to their users.
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