mind like a sieve
Perpetually losing thoughts
To have a mind like a sieve is to be forgetful, unable to retain information—thoughts fall through like water through mesh.
The phrase is self-deprecating or gently critical: Sorry I forgot your birthday again—I have a mind like a sieve.
Sometimes shortened to memory like a sieve.
Inattentive to immediate surroundings
- forgetfulFailing to retain information
- amnesiacPerson with memory loss
- scatterbrainedLacking mental focus
- blankWithout marks or content
lapse · oversight · slip · misremember · foggy · hazy · dim · elusive
Mentally elsewhere, not present
- inattentiveNot paying attention
- daydreamingIdle mental wandering
- woolgatheringAbsent-minded indulgence in fantasy
- unfocusedWithout clear direction
sidetracked · disengaged · heedless · oblivious · spacey · dreamy · scattered · wandering
absentminded
Inattentive to immediate surroundings
- forgetfulFailing to retain information
- amnesiacPerson with memory loss
- scatterbrainedLacking mental focus
blank · lapse · oversight · slip · misremember · foggy · hazy · dim · elusive · fade
preoccupied
Mentally elsewhere, not present
- inattentiveNot paying attention
- daydreamingIdle mental wandering
- woolgatheringAbsent-minded indulgence in fantasy
unfocused · sidetracked · disengaged · heedless · oblivious · spacey · dreamy · scattered · wandering · drifting
strainer
Perforated draining vessel
mesh · perforated · holes · drain · sift · filter · escape · slip through · permeable · riddled
- expressions about forgetfulnessdrew a blank, blanked out, absentminded, mental block, memory lapse
mind like a sievephotographic memory
Flawless visual remembrance ability
total recall · eidetic memory · mind like a steel trap · unforgetting · never forgets
mind, minds, minded, mindful, mindfully, mindfulness, mindless, mindlessly, mindlessness