The Blind Leading The Blind

Submission 5,056

Part of a series on Catchphrases. [View Related Entries]

About

The Blind Leading The Blind is a prevalent catchphrase (or idiom) and a metaphor in the form of a parallel phrase. The expression describes a situation in which someone is getting advice and help from someone who is just as ignorant regarding the subject. Online, an image macro and illustration of the term was popularized on TikTok around August 2023 when it was used to showcase friendship situations in which one supports delusional ideas from a friend.

Origin

On March 9th, 2010, The Phrase Finder^[1] website explained that the phrase "the blind leading the blind" first appeared in the Bible, specifically in Matthew 15:14 from Miles Coverdale's Bible 1535, written as:

Let they go, they are ye blynde leaders of ye blynde. Wha one blinde leadeth another, they fall both I ye diche.

Pieter Bruegel's 1568 oil painting, often called The Parable of the Blind, is considered the oldest representation of blind people following each other and stumbling into a ditch (shown below).

Spread

Online, the phrase has been featured in a series of ironic memes and image macro posts beginning as early as the late 2010s. On September 27th, 2019, Pinterest^[2] user @myshadesofemerald uploaded an image featuring two blind people heading to a hole in the ground (shown below, left). On April 23rd, 2020, Tenor^[3] user @jerseyshorefamilyvacation posted a GIF (shown below, right) of a reality TV participant saying the memorable line "It's like the blind leading the blind."

Around February 2023, the catchphrase "The Blind Leading The Blind" became prominently featured in a popular TikTok trend, which consisted of posting images of friends paired with overlay texts commenting on their delusional conversations about relationship advice.

For instance, on February 6th, 2023, TikToker @graceguingon^[4] posted a picture with a friend overlaying a text conversation she had about texting her ex-boyfriend, to which the friend agreed (shown below. left). At the end of the video, an image macro with the phrase "Blind leading the blind" appears, which amassed over 1 million plays and 98,000 likes in eight months. On September 17th, TikToker^[5] @esraaragheb_ posted a similar video (shown below, right) that garnered roughly 15,000 plays and 800 likes in a day.