How can I describe being temporarily stupid?r 5FzsUx L nL b FfNnsCc h yk 0HC iJk L
I am looking for a word/phrase that means "being temporarily stupid/silly" and fits in these situations.
Situation A Some guy solves a math problem using a very complex method, and some other person shows him a very simple solution. The guys then says: "Oh! Right! I just ___(requested word/phrase)."
Situation B Someone is calling a friend using his/her cellphone, and suddenly yells "Where's my phone? I can't find my phone!" And we can say this person is ___(requested word/phrase)
Situation C Husband gets ripped off but doesn't know about it, and wife shouts: "What were you thinking? Did you ___(requested word/phrase)? How could you fall for that crap?"
Situation D Someone wants to say something but immediately forgets, and he/she mocks himself/herself: "Oh I just ___(requested word/phrase)"
To those who know about Chinese, I am looking for a translation of 脑袋短路. I've asked this on our Chinese site, but the answers there had some controversies. One option is "blank out", which works for D but not the other three. Other options include "brain glitch", "brain fart". But google search tells me these refer to mental illnesses rather than just being temporarily stupid.
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1This is how to ask a "what is the word for..." question. Clear context, a justification for why the word should exist, evidence of prior research. Good job. – James K 6 hours ago
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- My mind went blank. - Draw a blank. - Brainfreeze – TK-421 2 hours ago
1 Answer
"Blank out", "brain glitch", and "brain fart" are not mental illnesses. They are all legitimate, albeit possibly crude, vernacular for temporary stupidity.
Interestingly enough, Google translates 脑袋短路 as "short circuit". You can use the same metaphor in English:
My brain must have short-circuited
My brain was on the fritz.
My brain blew a fuse.
and so on.
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For situation A, see the story about John von Neumann at mathworld.wolfram.com/TwoTrainsPuzzle.html ;-) – DrMoishe Pippik 6 hours ago