vắt óc
Definition
Verb: - To rack one's brain: To think very hard and intensively in an effort to remember something, solve a difficult problem, or come up with an idea. It implies a strenuous mental effort, as if squeezing or wringing out one's brain.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Tôi phải vắt óc suốt đêm để giải bài toán đó. (I had to rack my brain all night to solve that math problem.)
- Nhà văn đang vắt óc tìm ý tưởng cho chương mới. (The writer is racking his brain to find an idea for the new chapter.)
- Cô ấy vắt óc nhớ lại tên người đàn ông đó. (She racked her brain to remember that man's name.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase is often used to describe prolonged, concentrated, and sometimes frustrating mental labor. It emphasizes the difficulty of the task and the significant cognitive effort required.
Variants and Related Words
- Vắt não (v): A less common, synonymous phrase with the same meaning ("to wring one's brain").
- Anh ấy vắt não nghĩ cách thoát khỏi tình huống khó khăn. (He wracked his brain thinking of a way out of the difficult situation.)
Synonyms
- To think hard: To engage in deep concentration.
- To cudgel one's brains: To think very deeply (more literary synonym).
- To puzzle over: To think carefully about a confusing problem.
Related Idioms
- Vắt óc suy nghĩ: This is essentially the full, explicit form of the idiom, meaning "to rack one's brain thinking."
- Cả nhóm vắt óc suy nghĩ tìm giải pháp. (The whole group racked their brains to find a solution.)
verb
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to rack one's brain
