You may have heard the saying ‘close your eyes and think of England’ and wondered what it meant. If that is the case, here you will find the meaning of the term, where it came from and how we can use it in our daily conversations.
“Close Your Eyes and Think of England”
“Close Your Eyes and Think of England” Meaning
The meaning of the phrase ‘close your eyes and think of England’ is referring to unwanted sexual intercourse, the term usually applies to intercourse between a husband and wife in which, originally, the wife does not really want to take part. When someone uses the term ‘close your eyes and think of England’ it is a way to tell the wife to put her mind elsewhere whilst her husband performs the act.
Origin of this idiom
The saying is believed to have originated in Victorian England when women were expected to always meet their husbands needs, regardless of what they wanted themselves. There is some speculation that the saying was coined by Queen Victoria when asked about bedroom advice by one of her daughters, but there is no solid evidence to back this up. Some people believe that the saying was originally coined in order to encourage wives who were trying to get pregnant, the term referred to the keeping the population of England going.
“Close Your Eyes and Think of England” Examples
You might use the saying ‘close your eyes and think of England’ when giving advice to a friend who is trying to conceive a baby, for example you could say something along the lines of ‘I know you’re probably sick of trying now but you really want a baby so just close your eyes and think of England.’
Conversation examples:
There are many instances where you might want to use this saying and here are a couple of examples of conversations where the term might appear.
Conversation 1:
- Person 1: “I find sex to be quite uncomfortable but I don’t want to let my partner down.”
- Person 2: “Well then, you will just have to close your eyes and think of England until he is done.”
Conversation 2:
- Wife: “I really don’t feel like anymore sex.”
- Husband: “OK but I thought you really wanted to get pregnant this month?”
- Wife: “Yes, I do. OK I’ll just close my eyes and think of England.”
Other Ways to Say the Phrase
There are other ways you might imply the use of this saying, some of the options to do this might be;
- Lie back and think of England
- Lie still and think of a new way to trim a hat.
- Endure an unpleasant task
“Close Your Eyes and Think of England” | Image
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