to draw blank
Preserved but no longer current.
To meet with failure in one's pursuit. The allusion is to sportsmen "draw- ing" a covert and finding no game. To draw a blank refers to having no luck in a lottery, sweepstake, etc. To fail in a search.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to draw blank” mean?
To meet with failure in one's pursuit. The allusion is to sportsmen "draw- ing" a covert and finding no game. To draw a blank refers to having no luck in a lottery, sweepstake, etc. To fail in a search.
Is “to draw blank” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.