# "Draw the blinds" means? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 14, 2024, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081 "2024-01-14T20:18:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/21 "2024-01-15T00:01:41Z")
Since your poll also provoked me to second guess what I thought it meant (close them), if asked in the morning, I _might_ interpret it as “open them” and, in the evening, I _might_ interpret it as “close them”, but mostly it would probably provoke me to realize that we don’t have blinds. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/22 "2024-01-15T00:09:59Z")
Talk out my crayons and construction paper and make a drawing of them… I would think it means to close them, however if they were closed when the person said it I would think they meant to open them and that’s what I would do. ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/23 "2024-01-15T00:12:55Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The default state of blinds is open. I would say the default state of **blinds** would be blind, i.e., **closed**. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/24 "2024-01-15T00:22:08Z")
I used the word “blinds” because that was what the management company email used. And is what’s installed on our windows. I don’t _think_ the meaning of “draw” changes whether we’re talking roller shades, curtains, venetian style horizontal pivoting slat blinds, or the more modern style vertical pivoting slat blinds. But the waters would get deep if “draw” did change depending on which style window covering we were talking about “drawing”. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/25 "2024-01-15T01:06:35Z")
I typically take “draw the blinds” to mean close the window shades/curtains/drapes—to darken the room. I often hear this spoken in a deep, ominous voice, uttered by someone who wants privacy, perhaps engaged in some sort of covert operation. On the other hand, if I hear the phrase uttered in a happy tone, in a room with already closed shades/curtains/binds, I take that to mean, “open the shades, and let the light in”, even though “draw” is being used in a non-standard manner. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/26 "2024-01-15T02:30:09Z")
Thanks for posting, this is my reference for drawing the blinds. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/27 "2024-01-15T10:41:41Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Or as a favorite math prof used to say about a challenging question from the class. > > > Hmmm. … I was sure until you asked me. I closed my eyes Drew back the curtain To see for certain What I thought I knew ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/28 "2024-01-15T10:49:50Z")
Jethro Tull lyrics sprang to mind. _Spin me back down the years and the days of my youth_ _Draw the lace and black curtains, and shut out the whole truth_ ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/29 "2024-01-15T10:50:55Z")
AAAhhh-ahhh-ahhh ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/30 "2024-01-15T10:53:05Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’ve always thought it means to close the curtains. But upon reading the OP’s question, I actually started second-guessing myself. Me too. We obviously also have the phrase ‘draw the curtains’ which to me could be either opening or closing. But with blinds, my instinct was to close them. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/31 "2024-01-15T11:14:36Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I don’t _think_ the meaning of “draw” changes whether we’re talking roller shades, curtains, venetian style horizontal pivoting slat blinds, or the more modern style vertical pivoting slat blinds. I’m not sure. I think the term originates with curtains and is inherited by blinds. Venetian blinds such as you might find in an office building have multiple states - up, down, and various/continuous tilting of the slats; curtains are simpler - generally just open or closed. I’m not sure how I would interpret ‘draw the blinds’, unless it was made obvious from other cues (such as someone wanting to use a projector) ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/32 "2024-01-15T11:46:06Z")
The phrase “draw the curtains” was one my grandfather used, but was never part of my own dialect. I can’t say for certain, but I think he used the phrase to mean either “open the curtains” or “close the curtains” depending on context. I’ve never heard the phrase “draw the blinds” and it wouldn’t fit well for me with a blind whose mode of opening/closing is vertical, although the string used to raise/lower the blind could be referred to as a “drawstring”. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/33 "2024-01-15T13:55:35Z")
I remember that book. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/34 "2024-01-15T16:33:54Z")
We have several windows with blinds. ‘Draw the blinds’ means close only to me. Though I think in actual practice I’d just say ‘close the blinds’ or ‘open the blinds’ as applicable. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/35 "2024-01-15T16:58:29Z")
> [@JacobSwan](#): > > Drew back the curtain Now, _this_ phrasing has the sense of opening the curtains, because of the “back”. Lacking that, I hear “draw the curtains” as “draw the curtains closed”. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/36 "2024-01-15T17:14:25Z")
Blinds of the Venetian variety usually can be opened and closed in two different senses. They can be raised vertically, or what I might call ‘drawn’ horizontally so that they are spread across a window, and also the slats opened or closed to allow light in or block it. So does it matter if what orientation the slats are in regard to ‘drawing’? If the blinds are open across the window and the slats are open to allow in light already would closing the slats be ‘drawing the blinds’? If the blinds are folded up against the top of the window and pulled down with the slats closed to block light is that ‘drawing the blinds’? Or is it a nonsensical question because of the two part functionality of blinds that can’t simply borrow an idiomatic expression from curtains, their simpler relative? ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2024, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/37 "2024-01-17T03:38:19Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > But dictionaries seem to suggest that in this context, “draw” is being used in the sense of motion, “to pull”, as in “the train drew into the station” Yes, but does it ever draw _out_ of the station? It seems I’ve always heard of drawing your coat or blanket close around your shoulders, or drawing a loved one in for a hug, but never the opposite. But that’s just a vague sense of meaning. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2024, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/38 "2024-01-17T06:26:59Z")
A lot of idiomatic usages of “draw” are asymmetrical. Your train draws into station, but AFAIK never draws out of it. Meanwhile, you can draw the truth from a reluctant speaker, but you’d probably get into trouble trying to draw the truth into someone. Idioms are that way. They’re not in required to be consistent or logical. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2024, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/39 "2024-01-17T10:06:47Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Your train draws into station, but AFAIK never draws out of it. A Google search for the phrase “drew out of the station” currently receives 440,000 hits. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2024, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081/40 "2024-01-17T13:28:00Z")
And what’s the comparison to the hit count for “drew into the station”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/draw-the-blinds-means/996081.md?page=3)