To raise/lower the blinds or to draw the blinds?

Question

I'm an English learner and I'd like to know which verb should I use when using the word venetian blinds. Do you say 'to raise/lower the blinds' or 'to pull the blinds up/down?' or 'to draw the blinds'? + What would you say if you just wanted to turn the slats - would you say something like 'Close/open the blinds, please.'? It would be really helpful for me if you took the time to answer. :)

Answer 1

"Raise/lower" would be correct. Instead of "pull", one tends to hear "put" instead. i.e. "put the blinds up", "put the blinds down".

Being British, I've only ever heard "draw" used when the curtains/blinds move sideways from the sides of the window to the middle, not with blinds that go up and down.

As for just turning the slats of Venetian blinds, that's tricky. I think if the blind was already down, but with the slats open, saying "close the blinds" or "close the slats" would be understood correctly, but maybe not if the blinds were up to start with.

Answer 2

One of the meanings of draw is to pull (think of draft horses), so whichever way you are drawing curtains or blinds, open, closed, left, right, up, down, it is an acceptable usage. If you want to be more specific, you certainly can use a different verb (raise, lower, open, close, etc.)

Answer 3

If the blinds are vertical, use the same verb as you would with curtains: draw (open) the blinds or draw back the blinds

For roller blinds (without slats) which you pull on a cord, say: roll up /down or pull up/down the blinds

For horizontal blinds with slats (venetian blinds) use the verbs: open and close to adjust the amount of light that enters into a room. And pull up/down the blinds or raise and lower to hoist up or down the blinds.

Answer 4

Do you say 'to raise/lower the blinds' or 'to pull the blinds up/down?' or 'to draw the blinds'? + What would you say if you just wanted to turn the slats?

To bring them up or down with the cord:

Raise / lower the blinds

Note, pull the blinds would to me mean to raise them, i.e. let more light in.

To turn the slats to allow more light in:

Adjust the blinds to let in a little more light

To turn the slats to block light out:

Close the blinds.

Bonus tip:

Draw the curtain

means close the curtain. As someone already noted, this is a sideways movement.

Answer 5

Merriam-Webster defines the noun "blind" as a "window shutter," a "roller window shade" or a "Venetian blind," also as "a place of concealment, especially, a concealing enclosure from which one may shoot game or observe wildlife," and as "something put forward for the purpose of misleading," i.e., "subterfuge." There are many different literal denotations and figurative connotations for the word "blind" and its plural form "blinds." With Winston Weathers' "Grammar B" (see Tom Romano) or even poetic license, you can do whatever you want with a blind or blinds.

Merriam-Webster also defines the phrase "draw the blinds/curtain/shades on" as an idiom which means to end something that has been continuing for a long time.

Idiomatic or figurative (metaphorical) language has many different "shades" of meaning, and it changes over time. It evolves as poets and those who create street slang break the rules of grammar. With PREscriptive grammar, language has rules that come from the the top-down, teacher-to-student. With PROscriptive grammar, language evolves from the bottom-up as the rules are broken.

Psycholinguistically, the brain fills in the blanks, reads between the lines and determines what the speaker or writer means, and intuitively gains understanding. Psycholinguistics is the field of study that researches the mental processes making it possible for humans to use, master and understand language. Psycholinguistic research investigates speech and language development and how individuals produce and comprehend language. Most intelligent, insightful people will understand what you mean.