rack one's brains
Struggle to remember
To rack one's brains is to think very hard, straining to remember or solve something: I racked my brains trying to remember where I'd left my keys.
The image is of the torture device that stretched victims—here applied to mental effort.
Also spelled *rack one's brain* or, less correctly, *wrack one's brains*.
- agonizeSuffer mental distress
- contemplateConsider something thoroughly
- deduceReach by reasoning
- mull overConsider at length
- chew overConsider carefully, repeatedly
think hard · puzzle over · analyze · dig deep · deliberate · think it through · brainstorm · struggle · strategize · ponder · infer · work out · figure out · evaluate · persevere · scratch one's head · obsess · sleep on it
cognitive effort
rack one's brainszone out
Become mentally absent
space out · spring to mind · daydream · mindlessly · switch off
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