This saying first appeared in the 3rd century BC in Greek. It didn't appear in its current form in print until the 19th century, but in the meantime there were various written forms that expressed much the same thought. Continue reading about this phrase here . The meaning behind this phrase is that beauty is subjective. A simple definition of subjective is relating to the way a person experiences things in his or her own mind; based on feelings or opinions rather than facts. There's a movie that is a great portrait of this phrase...

Admiral Horatio Nelson is supposed to have said this when wilfully disobeying a signal to withdraw during a naval engagement. Nelson was convinced he could win if he persisted and that's when he 'turned a blind eye'. Read about the full story here . To turn a blind eye means that you are knowingly and willingly refusing to acknowledge a rule, an order, a problem, etc.

Originally meaning the central aperture of the eye it is more popular in its figurative sense.  'The apple of my eye' is exceedingly old and first appears in Old English in a work attributed to King Aelfred (the Great) of Wessex, AD 885, titled Gregory's Pastoral Care. Much later, Shakespeare used the phrase in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 1600: Flower of this purple dye, Hit with Cupid’s archery, Sink in apple of his eye It also appears several times in the Bible; for example, in Deuteronomy 32:10 (King James Version, 1611) He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. and in Zechariah 2:8: For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. The phrase was known from those early sources but became more widely used in the general popu...

The book of Isaiah is a popular source for some of our most common expressions. Today's is another example. ( source ) Seeing eye to eye means you agree with someone else.