cudgel (one's) brains

To try very hard to comprehend, solve, think of, or remember something. I was up all night cudgeling my brains for a way to pay off all my debts. She cudgeled her brains to remember the man's name.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Luanne	loo-AN	English
Etheldreda	-	Medieval English
Dafina	-	Albanian, Macedonian
Birgitta	bir-YIT-tah (Swedish), bir-GIT-tah (Swedish), BEER-geet-tah (Finnish)	Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish
Ludo	-	Dutch
Hand	[hænd]