draw a blank
Come up empty
To draw a blank is to fail to remember or find something: I'm trying to remember her name but I'm drawing a blank.
The phrase comes from lotteries where drawing a blank ticket meant winning nothing.
It extends to any unsuccessful attempt to retrieve information or achieve a result: Police drew a blank in their search for witnesses.
Utterly unable to understand
- perplexedThoroughly confused, uncertain
- puzzledConfused by something unclear
- flummoxedUtterly perplexed
- at a lossPerplexed, without direction
clueless · nonplussed · stymied · bewildered · confounded · mystified · befuddled · stuck
Failure to retain information
- lapseBrief failure or expiration
- amnesiaPathological loss of recall
- mental blockInability to retrieve thoughts
- blackoutComplete power loss
memory lapse · brain freeze · tip-of-the-tongue · spacing out · senior moment · fugue · memory gap · dissociation
Intense weary annoyance
- disappointmentSadness from unmet expectations
- dismayDistressed loss of courage
- annoyanceState of being bothered
- vexationFrustrated annoyance
chagrin · letdown · irritation · discouragement · deflation · futility · dead end · hitting a wall
Not any thing
- zeroNumerical absence of quantity
- zilchInformal term for naught
- nadaBorrowed zero
- empty-handedPossessing nothing to show
fruitless · unsuccessful · unrewarded · void · null · goose egg · strikeout · miss
baffled
Utterly unable to understand
- perplexedThoroughly confused, uncertain
- puzzledConfused by something unclear
- flummoxedUtterly perplexed
at a loss · clueless · nonplussed · stymied · bewildered · confounded · mystified · befuddled · stuck · dumbfounded
forgetfulness
Failure to retain information
- lapseBrief failure or expiration
- amnesiaPathological loss of recall
- mental blockInability to retrieve thoughts
blackout · memory lapse · brain freeze · tip-of-the-tongue · spacing out · senior moment · fugue · memory gap · dissociation · absentmindedness
exasperation
Intense weary annoyance
- disappointmentSadness from unmet expectations
- dismayDistressed loss of courage
- annoyanceState of being bothered
vexation · chagrin · letdown · irritation · discouragement · deflation · futility · dead end · hitting a wall · roadblock
nothing
Not any thing
empty-handed · fruitless · unsuccessful · unrewarded · void · null · goose egg · strikeout · miss · whiff
- memory phrasesring a bell, jog your memory, tip of tongue, commit to memory, slipped my mind
- zoning outzone out, space out, daze, trance, tune out
draw a blankremember
Retain in mind
recall · recollect · total recall · bring to mind · retrieve
draw a blankhit the jackpot
Win a major prize
strike gold · find it · succeed · come up trumps · score
draw, drawing, blanket, blank, drawn, drawer, drawers, draws, blankets