Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[leslie]

Hi,

If there's something rings a bell, but you just cannot remember its name or title, what other idioms or expressions to show such situation besides "be on the tip of tongue"? Is it also correct to use 'put your finger on it', 'put your finger on something', and 'pinpoint something'?

Sentence examples offered will be much appreciated.

Leslie
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Less Is Blessed

[lotus]

Hi Leslie,

You almost got it. It's on the tip of your tongue. It doesn't quite ring a bell, and you just can't put your finger on it.

You got it now?


--lotus
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War does not make one great --Yoda

[leslie]

Thank you very much, lotus. But according to Cambridge Dictionaries Online, "put your finger on something" means "to discover the exact reason why a situation is the way it is, especially when something is wrong". It seems not quite fit for the expression I asked. But, I'm not a native English speaker. What do I know?

Besides this expression, are there any other similar ones to describe what I've depicted?

Thanks once again.

Leslie
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Less Is Blessed