Memory

search memory

I’ve been searched my memory all week for the name of that guy I was at college with, but all I can remember is it starts with ‘g’ – a name like ‘Goodfellow’ or ‘Goldsmith’.

commit memory

When I was at school we had to commit a lot of poems to memory.

lose memory

Elderly people tend to lose their memory bit by bit and become increasingly forgetful.

jog memory

Listen to it again. It might jog your memory and help you to remember who the singer was.

bring back memory

These photographs bring back lots of great memories of our holiday in Egypt.

blot out memory

John can’t stop thinking about the accident. He finds it impossible to blot out the memory. However, I’m sure the memory will fade with the passing of time.

etch memory

My first sight of you will always be etched on me memory. You were wearing the light blue dress and your hair was flying in the wind as you got out of your Porsche.

put memory behind

Sooner or later you’re going to have to put the memory of your first wife behind you. How can we live if you keep talking about her?

terrible memory

I have a great memory for faces, but a terrible memory for names. What’s your name again?

fond memory

I have very fond memories of living in the country. It was such a relaxed way of life.

hazy memory

Dave’s mother died when he was only four years old, so he only has a hazy memory of what she looked like.

earliest memory

My earliest memory is of being taken to the park and feeding the ducks.

living memory

The storms we have experienced recently are the worst in living memory – according to the weathermen.

distant memory

My time at university is now a distant memory. It seems so long ago.

painful memory

For over thirty years Bernard had suppressed some painful memories from his troubled child hood.

short-term memory

I can remember things that happened when I was a very young child, but my short-term memory is awful. Now, where did I leave my glasses!

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I’ve got a photographic memory. I can see a painting in a gallery and then recall all the details days later.

I’ve got no memory for places. I can’t remember whether it was Modena or Turin where we met first.

I’ve got a very retentive memory. I can remember every word of Hamlet’s great speech.

I’ve got a very long memory. I’ll never forget what you used to do to me at school.

 

Notes

• Note these expressions:

They have erected a statue in memory of those who died in the two world wars.

It’s extremely long but he is able to recite the whole poem from memory.

He was called Brain, if mu memory serves me right.

He suffered loss of memory after his accident.

Are you one hundred percent sure? Memory can play tricks on you.

Che Guevara died years ago but his memory lives on.

This place holds lots of memories for us.

I was sure I’d met you before, but my memory must be playing tricks on me!

• We can also ‘refresh’ our memories:

I looked at the map to refresh my memory of the route to the youth hostel.

• ‘A trip down memory lane’ is to spend time remembering the past:

We returned to our old school for a trip down memory lane.