<strong>What is the origin of the phrase 'draw a blank?'</strong>&nbsp;

We all have faced situations where we’ve forgotten the name of a known person or the answer to a question that we know of. These are generally the contexts where we use the term ‘draw a blank’.   

According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary, “draw a blank” is defined that means this: “To fail to produce a desired object or successful response” or “inability to recall a required piece of information.” But that’s just the meaning of the phrase. Ever wondered from where it originated from? Let us find out.  

Where did “draw a blank” come from? 
“Draw a blank” is one of the most common idioms used in modern English. However, its origin dates back to hundreds of years ago. In fact, the most common origin story of “draw a blank” traces back to 16^th century Tudor England when Queen Elizabeth I had organised the first ever lottery in the country in the year 1567.  

As part of this first mega lottery of England, two pots were arranged: One contained slips of paper with names of all the contestants and the other contained the same number of slips. The only difference was that only a few papers had prizes allotted, while the rest were kept blank. Now, the lottery was conducted in such a way that whenever a chit of paper was pulled from the first pot, someone else pulled out another chit simultaneously from the second pot. If the person matched with a prize, they were declared as winners. In case, a person’s name was drawn with a slip that was blank, they missed out on the chances of winning. This is when the unsuccessful people were said to have “drawn a blank.”  

How is “draw a blank” used in modern times? 
In the modern times, lotteries are still popular in pop culture and so is the phrase “draw a blank.” In fact, “draw a blank” is widely used during raffles and lotteries. Also, there are the day-to-day conversational instances where we fail to remember an acquaintance’s name or can’t remember the singer of a particular song. This is when “draw a blank” is used. Fortunately, next time you draw a blank, you will at least remember its meaning.  

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