{"id":3174,"date":"2022-05-03T18:06:45","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T18:06:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=3174"},"modified":"2022-05-03T18:06:45","modified_gmt":"2022-05-03T18:06:45","slug":"draw-a-blank-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/draw-a-blank-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Draw a Blank \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for a way to tell someone you can\u2019t recall the information they are requesting? If so, you could say to them that you \u201c<em>draw a blank<\/em>\u201d on their request. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The meaning of \u201c<em>draw a blank<\/em>\u201d is to fail to remember something.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cThe boss asked me if I remembered where we filed that last report. I told him I have no idea, and I draw a blank every time I try to recall where we filed it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI draw a blank every time I try to remember where I heard that song.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTom asked me if I remember what I did last Saturday night. I was so drunk that I told him I draw a blank when I try to remember.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you going to draw a blank on that like the last five times I asked you to recall something? Your memory is terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m trying to remember when I saw her last, but I draw a blank; I can\u2019t remember at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3175\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Draw-a-Blank.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"207\" height=\"116\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3176\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Draw-a-Blank2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"204\" height=\"115\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The origin of the expression \"draw a blank\" comes from the Tudor dynasty in England, referring to the National Lottery.<\/p>\n<p>Queen Elizabeth I found her monarchy short of funds to manage the state of England. As a result, she copied rival nations in Europe, introducing the National Lottery Program.<\/p>\n<p>According to the original notes on establishing the lottery system, the monarchy sought to raise money for \"reparation of the havens and strength of the Realm and towards further public works.\"<\/p>\n<p>The first use of \"draw a blank\" appeared in the 16th century. The Queen signed the license granting the operation of the state lottery in 1597.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, playing the lottery involved placing tickets into a \"lot pot,\" with the participant's name written on the ticket.<\/p>\n<p>A similar amount of notes featuring prizes went into another pot, along with blank pieces of paper that offered no prizes to the participants.<\/p>\n<p>The lottery authority would draw a pair of tickets from the lot pot. If they pulled a blank ticket from the pot, the contestant wouldn't win anything.<\/p>\n<p>However, the phrase would only appear in print in the 1800s, in Washington Irving's \"Tales of a Traveller,\" published in 1824. The book's plot involves the lead character receiving credit for something they didn't do.<\/p>\n<p>\"It is like being congratulated on the high prize when one has drawn a blank.\"<\/p>\n<p>The phrase would shift its meaning in the 19th century to describe someone unsuccessful. It would later shift to mean that the person can't recall what someone asks them.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Draw a blank Meaning\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lVuRj4UqSlk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Draw a Blank<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Haven\u2019t the foggiest.<\/li>\n<li>Doesn\u2019t ring a bell.<\/li>\n<li>I\u2019m stumped.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Draw a Blank<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>I remember that like it was yesterday.<\/li>\n<li>I recall that vividly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Draw a blank.<\/li>\n<li>Drawing a blank.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Draw a Blank Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>The phrase \"draw a blank\" doesn't refer to drawing or pulling something physical. It relates to memory recall.<\/p>\n<p>So, using this phrase to describe artists' block where they don't have any inspiration to create is incorrect.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Draw a Blank<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the phrase \"draw a blank\" when telling someone that you can't recall what they are talking about with you.<\/p>\n<p>The phrase suits social and professional use. At work, you could tell your boss that you draw a blank when they ask you if you remember a client coming into the store last week.<\/p>\n<p>You could also use the phrase if your friends ask you about something you don't remember. It's a way of telling them that you can't recall the information they need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you looking for a way to tell someone you can\u2019t recall the information they are requesting? If so, you could say to them that you \u201cdraw a blank\u201d on their request. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression. Meaning The meaning of \u201cdraw a blank\u201d is to fail to remember something. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3174"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3174"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3318,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3174\/revisions\/3318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}