rack one's brain イディオム
rack one's brains
try one's best to think;try to remember sth.one has known;think hard with little or no result 绞尽脑汁;努力思考仍无结果;尽力回忆
He racked his brains during the test trying to solve the difficult problem.考试时他绞尽脑汁试图把难题解出来。
Henry racked his brains trying to remember where he left his key.亨利想来想去,试图回忆起他把钥匙放在什么地方了。
rack one's brain|brain|rack
v. phr. To try your best to think; make a great mental effort; especially: to try to remember something you have known.
Bob racked his brain trying to remember where he left the book. Susan racked her brain trying to guess whom the valentine came from. John racked his brain during the test trying to solve the problem.
rack one's brain
rack one's brain Also,
cudgel one's brains. Strain to remember or find a solution, as in
I've been racking my brain trying to recall where we put the key, or
He's been cudgeling his brains all day over this problem. The first term, first recorded in 1583 as
rack one's wit, alludes to the
rack that is an instrument of torture, on which the victim's body was stretched until the joints were broken. The variant, from the same period, uses
cudgel in the sense of “beat with a cudgel” (a short thick stick). Shakespeare used it in
Hamlet (5:1): “Cudgel thy brains no more about it, for your dull ass will not bend his pace with beating.” Also see
beat one's brains out.
rack (one's) brain(s)
To attempt to anamnesis or anticipate of something. I've been cutting my brain, but I still can't bethink what Lydia's husband's name is. He racked his accuracy all weekend aggravating to anticipate of a band-aid to the problem.Learn more: rackrack one's brain
Also, cudgel one's brains. Ache to bethink or acquisition a solution, as in I've been cutting my academician aggravating to anamnesis area we put the key, or He's been cudgeling his accuracy all day over this problem. The aboriginal term, aboriginal recorded in 1583 as rack one's wit, alludes to the rack that is an apparatus of torture, on which the victim's anatomy was continued until the joints were broken. The variant, from the aforementioned period, uses cudgel in the faculty of "beat with a cudgel" (a abbreviate blubbery stick). Shakespeare acclimated it in Hamlet (5:1): "Cudgel thy accuracy no added about it, for your addled ass will not angle his clip with beating." Also see beat one's accuracy out. Learn more: brain, rackrack one's brain, to
To ache to bethink article or ascertain a solution. The rack here is the medieval apparatus of ache on which the victim’s anatomy was continued until it broke. The abstraction is old; “we breach our accuracy for naught” comes from 1530. The chat “rack” came into use about 150 years later.Learn more: rack