1
general::
Phrase(s): draw a blank
1. Fig. to get no response; to find nothing. • I asked him about Tom’s financial problems, and I just drew a blank. • We looked in the files for an hour, but we drew a blank. 2. Fig. to fail to remember something. • I tried to remember her telephone number, but I could only draw a blank. • It was a very hard test with just one question to answer, and I drew a blank.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
Fail to find or remember something, as in He looks familiar but I've drawn a blank on his name. This expression alludes to drawing a lottery ticket with nothing on it (so one cannot win a prize). [Early 1800s]
American Heritage Idioms