What is the origin of "blink" meaning short-range teleporation?
I don’t know if this is the earliest example but Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (Players Handbook, 1978) has the Blink spell, a 2’ teleportation spell described as:
By means of this spell, the magic-user causes his or her material form to "blink" out and back to this plane once again in random period and direction during the duration of each minute the spell is in effect.
Additionally, “Blink dogs” are described in the 1975 Greyhawk Supplement as having “limited teleportation”.