A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

blind auction • blind bidding
blind auction —an auction in which all parties submit sealed
bids by a given date: The U.S. government sells surplus equip-
ment and confiscated goods at blind auctions on several mil-
itary posts.
blind bidding —(Cinema) putting in a bid for the rental of
a picture without the opportunity to see a preview: Movie
theater owners had to accept blind bidding from the distrib-
utors.
Blind Freddy • Blind Tom
Blind Freddy —(Austral. sl.) a person of low intelligence:
Even Blind Freddy could tell you that the government would
fall.
Blind Tom —Thomas Wiggins (born blind in 
1
849), an
African American autistic musical prodigy: Blind Tom toured
all over the U.S. giving prestigious performances.
blind to the world • dead to the world
blind to the world —(coll.) extremely drunk: He may be a
nice enough fellow when he is sober. But on the two occasions
I have met him he was blind to the world and a perfect nui-
sance.
dead to the world —(coll.) 
1
. unconscious or fast asleep: A
muffled sound of snoring rose from the great hall where thirty
exhausted lads lay dead to the world. 2. = blind to the world:
Six beers and he was dead to the world. 3. unaware of or not
interested in modern affairs: Old Marryat is dead to the world;
I tried to talk to him on at least a dozen modern topics but he
responded to none of them.
block operator • block worker
block operator —(Railways) a railroad worker who operates
block signals manually: Under Rule 305, block operators had
to inform the dispatcher of an approaching train.
block worker —a person who campaigns on the most local
level (as a city block) on behalf of a political party: He has
served as a Democratic Party block worker and has twice been
a primary election candidate for this Congressional district.