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
YÊN	-	Vietnamese
Hubrecht	HUY-brəkht	Dutch (Archaic)
Isotta	ee-ZOT-tah	Italian
Theodor	-	German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, Romanian
Eguzki	-	Basque
Alanna	ə-LAN-ə	English