Dictionary

draw a blank en · VERB

Etymology

Probably from the idea of drawing of a blank (losing) ticket in an old-fashioned lottery.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To be unable to recall a required piece of information.
   • I should know that person's name, but I'm drawing a blank.
2. (idiomatic) To fail; not to find anything; to produce no successful response.
   • When she brainstormed about what else she would do, where else she would go, her mind drew a blank. 2022, Ling Ma, “Office Hours”, in Bliss Montage, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN:
   • "Oh," she replied, "when I came to think of it, I saw, that you were right. I thought, 'twas quite likely it [the lottery ticket] would draw a blank.[…]" 1856, Lucius Manlius Sargent, Dealings with the Dead, volume 2, page 472:

Forms

Relateds

thinko · on the tip of one's tongue · draw blank · brain cramp · come up empty

Translations (10)

es quedarse en blanco (being unable to recall a piece of information) · pl mieć pustkę w głowie (being unable to recall a piece of information) · fi vetää vesiperä (idiomatic: to fail) · es no ocurrirse nada (being unable to recall a piece of information) · es quedar en blanco (being unable to recall a piece of information) · pl nie znaleźć rozwiązania (idiomatic: to fail) · es tener la mente en blanco (being unable to recall a piece of information) · pt dar um branco (being unable to recall a piece of information) · fi ei tulla mieleen (being unable to recall a piece of information) · fr avoir un trou de mémoire (being unable to recall a piece of information)