draw a blank
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- 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
- be unable to remember
- I'm drawing a blank
- You are blocking the name of your first wife!