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
Aili	-	Finnish
Enos	EE-nahs (English)	Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Innokenti	-	Russian
Hermine	her-MEE-nə (German)	German, French
Gisela	-	German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese
Ansell	['ænsəl]