To shut the eyes, to wink. Hence, to shun, to avoid, shy at, as some animals avoid an alarming object, at the same time shutting their eyes so as not to see it. The leathern flaps on a horse's bridle, over the eyes, are called blinkers. We use the verb in a metaphorical sense of avoiding or flinching from delicate topics. Thus we say, "He blinks the question," that is, he shuns the true point of the argument.
It's no use to blink matters. The skunk was been abroad, and he must have a blunt nose that can't wind him.--Crockett's Tour, p. 107.