wool gathering
Idle mind's drift
Wool gathering—literally collecting tufts of wool caught on bushes and fences—has come to mean idle daydreaming or absentminded wandering of the mind.
The image captures someone drifting aimlessly rather than focusing on productive work: Sorry, I was wool gathering—what did you say?
Often spelled as one word: woolgathering.
- daydreamingIdle mental wandering
- lost in thoughtDeeply mentally preoccupied
- reverieAbstracted, pleasant daydream
- head in the cloudsAbsorbed in fantasy
- distractedUnable to concentrate
spacing out · absent-minded · musing · dreamy · wandering · hazy · fleece · sheep · spinning · carding · pastoral · meadow · idle · drifting · zoning out · unfocused · preoccupied · lost
- boredomboredom, ennui, tedium, monotony, dullness
- contemplationcontemplation, meditation, reflection, pondering, musing
- daydreamingdaydreaming, daydreams, fantasies, deep in thought, musings
- gathering activitiesforaging, berry picking, mushroom hunting, fruit picking, apple picking
- idle timekilling time, passing time, wasting time, whiling away, doing nothing
- imaginationimagination, daydreaming, daydreams, fantasies, fantasy
wool gatheringconcentration
Sustained single-minded attention
focus · attention · attentiveness · mindfulness · alertness
wool gatheringindustriousness
Habitual hard work
diligence · application · hard work · productivity · busy work
wool gatheringdiligence
Careful, persistent effort
industriousness · application · studiousness · hard work · deliberation
wool, gathering, wools, woolen, woolly, woolens, gather, gathers, gathered