Meaning
To fail to get a result: either to be unable to remember or think of something, or to get nothing from a search, inquiry, or attempt. Common in constructions like 'my mind drew a blank' or 'police drew a blank in their inquiries'. Neutral register, slightly informal; carries no negative judgement of the person, only of the outcome. Regional use: General English.
Origin
The expression comes from lotteries in Tudor England. Elizabeth I licensed a national lottery in 1567 to fund harbour repairs and public works; participants' name tickets went into one container and prize slips, some winning and some blank, into another, and a blank pair meant the player lost. Despite blanks being drawn in the 1500s, The Phrase Finder reports the phrase was not printed figuratively until Washington Irving's 'Tales of a Traveller' in 1824 ('It is like being congratulated on the high prize when one has drawn a blank'). It then spread through hunting circles in the 1830s for coming home empty-handed, and later in the nineteenth century broadened to mean failing at any search or venture. Etymonline adds that the archaic sense of a blank as a losing lottery ticket dates from the 1560s.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- come up blank
- draw a complete blank
- drawing a blank
- drew a blank
Usage Examples
- I recognised her face immediately, but when I tried to recall her name I drew a blank.
- Investigators interviewed a dozen witnesses and drew a blank on the vehicle's description.
- He has emailed several archives about his grandfather's war records but keeps drawing a blank.