7 useful english phrases to say when you forget something
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7 Useful English Phrases to Say When You
Forget Something
1. “I lost my train of thought.”
lose your train of thought
= forget what you were thinking, right in the middle of thinking about it
A “train of thought” = a connected series of thoughts or ideas in your head
You’re telling someone a story or about an idea you had, but you get distracted, or you
are interrupted by something, and you forget what you were talking about.
E.g. I was in the middle of telling a story, but the phone rang and I lost my train of
thought.
2. “It slipped my mind.”
slip one’s mind
= forget something
I can’t believe I forgot her birthday. It completely slipped my mind!
We had a meeting at 1pm today. Did it slip your mind?
He forgot to get some milk at the grocery store. I guess it just slipped his mind.
3. “It’s on the tip of my tongue!”
be on the tip of one’s tongue
You know that you know something, but you can’t remember it at that moment!
I know this! I know this! It’s on the tip of my tongue! His name is … oh, I can’t
remember!
Wait. Don’t tell me. I know this song. The name is on the tip of my tongue!
4. “It doesn’t ring a bell.”
ring a bell
= something is familiar, but you can’t completely remember it
His name rings a bell, but I can’t remember what he looks like.
Have you seen that new TV show, the one about the married couple?
~ It doesn’t ring a bell.
= it doesn’t sound familiar, I don’t recognize it
5. “It went in one ear and out the other.”
go in one ear and out the other
= forget something as soon as you hear it, forget something quickly
You are listening to someone speaking, but you are not really listening carefully. When
the other person says something, you hear it but you don’t remember it.
He told me is his name, but it went in one ear & out the other.
She won’t remember. Everything you tell her goes in one ear and out the other!
I’m sorry. I didn’t hear what you said. It went in one ear and out the other. I’m very
distracted today.
Be careful! This is not a nice thing to say to someone, because you are saying that you
aren’t paying attention to him or her!
6. “Can you refresh my memory?”
refresh one’s memory
= help someone remember something
It doesn’t ring a bell. Can you refresh my memory?
I have to read my notes again from the previous meeting to refresh my memory.
Be careful! “Let me refresh your memory” is a common phrase, but it can have a
negative meaning. People like to forget bad or negative experiences. Sometimes people
say “let me refresh your memory” in an angry way to make someone remember
something negative.
“You don’t remember me? Let me refresh your memory. You stole my phone!“
7. “I had a senior moment.”
have a senior moment
(usually said by older people)
= a humorous way of saying that you momentarily can’t remember something simple
because you are getting older
You can blame forgetting something on your age!
A senior citizen is an older person, usually someone who is 65 or older. (Sixty-five is the
official retirement age in many countries.) Senior is often used by itself as a shortened
form of senior citizen.
I had a senior moment. I forgot what my new car looked like and I spent 20 minutes
looking for it in the parking lot.
I had a senior moment yesterday. I thought my brother was my son.
People like to joke that they are getting old when they are 30 or 40 years old. Sometimes
a young person will say “I had a senior moment” or “I’m having a senior moment” as a
way to say that they are getting old.
English Idioms & Idiomatic Expressions
Memory
(Idioms : bear in mind → slipped my mind)
bear in mind
If a person asks you to bear something in mind, they are asking
you to remember it because it is important.
You must bear in mind that the cost of living is higher in New
York.
brain/memory like a
sieve
Someone who has a brain like a sieve has a very bad memory
and forgets things easily.
Oh, I forgot to buy the bread - I've got a brain like a sieve these
days!
have down pat
If you memorise or practise something until you know it perfectly
or have it exactly right, you have it down pat.
I rehearsed my presentation until I had it down pat.
have on the brain
If you have something on the brain, you think or talk abut it all
constantly.
Stop talking about golf. You've got golf on the brain!
in one ear and out
the other
To say that information goes in one ear and comes out the
othermeans that it is immediately forgotten or ignored.
I keep telling him about the risks but it goes in one ear and out
the other. He never listens!
jog someone's
memory
When you help someone to remember something they have
forgotten, you jog their memory.
You don't remember who was with us that day? Here's a
photograph to jog your memory.
lose your train of
thought
If you forget what you were saying, for example after a
disturbance or interruption, you lose your train of thought.
Now where was I? I'm afraid I've lost my train of thought.
if memory serves
well
If your memory serves you well, you remember correctly or you
have not forgotten any details.
You're Stella's daughter, if my memory serves me well.
trip
down memory lane
If you take a trip (stroll or walk) down memory lane, you
remember pleasant things that happened in the past.
Every Christmas is a trip down memory for the family when our
parents take out the photograph albums.
in your mind's eye
If you can visualise something, or see an image of it in your
mind, you see it in your mind's eye.
I can see the village in my mind's eye but I can't remember the
name.
rake over the ashes
When people rake over the ashes, they discuss an unpleasant
event which took place in the past.
My grandfather's business went bankrupt years go, but he still
rakes over the ashes from time to time.
refresh someone's
memory
If you refresh someone's memory, you remind them of facts they
seem to have forgotten.
Let me refresh your memory - you've already missed three
classes this term.
ring a bell
If something rings a bell, it sounds familiar, but you don't
remember the exact details.
John Bentley? The name rings a bell but I don't remember him.
senior moment
A momentary lapse of memory, especially in older people, or an
absent-minded action such as putting the cereals in the
refrigerator, is humorously referred to as having a senior
moment.
I found the phone in the cupboard. I must have had a senior
moment!
it slipped my mind
If something has slipped your mind, you have forgotten about it.
Oh dear! It slipped my mind that the shops were closed today!
