Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To be unable to remember or think of something: To fail to recall information, a name, or a fact, despite trying.
   • To get no result or response: To be unsuccessful in an attempt to find information or a solution.

Usage and Examples

• Primary Usage (Memory):
  • When the teacher asked for the capital, I drew a blank. (I could not remember the answer.)
  • "What was the name of that restaurant?" "Sorry, I'm drawing a blank." (I cannot recall it.)
• Secondary Usage (Result):
  • The police drew a blank in their search for new evidence. (They found nothing.)
  • Our investigation into the cause of the error drew a blank. (It yielded no useful information.)

Advanced Usage

• "to draw a complete blank": Emphasizes a total failure to remember or find anything.
  • I tried to remember his face, but I drew a complete blank.
• Used in informal, conversational contexts to describe a temporary mental lapse or an unsuccessful search.

Variants and Related Words

• Blank (noun): An empty space, often used metaphorically for a lack of memory or ideas.
  • My mind went blank.
• Draw (verb): In this idiom, it means to receive or obtain a result.

Synonyms

• Go blank: To suddenly be unable to think or remember.
• Forget: To fail to remember.
• Come up empty: To get no results from a search or effort.

Related Idioms

• Can't for the life of me (remember/think of...): A phrase expressing strong inability to recall something.
  • I can't for the life of me remember where I put my keys.
• Ring a bell: To seem faintly familiar (the opposite of drawing a blank).
  • Does the name "John Marston" ring a bell? (Does it sound familiar?)

Verb

1. be unable to remember
   • I'm drawing a blank
   • You are blocking the name of your first wife!