Where "Blind Freddy" Comes From
"Even Blind Freddy could see that" means something is so obvious it cannot be missed by anyone — even someone who cannot see. The Oxford English Dictionary's earliest evidence dates to 1913, in the Sydney Sportsman newspaper. The specific "Freddy" is uncertain: one theory connects it to Sir Frederick Pottinger, a colonial police inspector whose repeated failure to catch bushranger Ben Hall in 1862 made him a byword for missing the obvious; another proposes a blind street hawker named Freddy who was a familiar figure in Sydney in the 1920s.
Neither theory has documentary support predating the 1913 citation. The expression likely developed from the older and more generic "even a blind man could see," with "Freddy" adding personality to what was already a well-worn hyperbole. In Australian English, Blind Freddy became a stock character — not a real individual but a useful fiction, a guaranteed stand-in for someone unable to detect even the most glaring fact. The expression is still in common use and needs no explanation to any Australian audience.
Source: wordhistories.net — "'blind Freddy': meaning and origin"
"Even Blind Freddy could see that deal was never going to work out."
How Aussies Actually Use It
"Even Blind Freddy could see that" is used to underline just how obvious something is, often with a bit of exasperation at someone who's missed it.
It's most common in commentary and everyday conversation about decisions, mistakes, or outcomes that, in hindsight, should have been completely predictable.
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