ESL Podcast 561 - Being Forgetful

to forget - to not remember something; to have no memory of something

Was your wife mad when you forgot her birthday?

etched in my brain - memorized; permanently "written down" in one's mind so that one cannot forget something

The joy I felt when my son was born will always be etched in my brain.

to slip (one's) mind - to forget something; to not remember something; to have no memory of something

Davy forgot to do the homework assignment and told the teacher it had just slipped his mind.

preoccupied - worried or thinking about something else; distracted

Lately Shaun has been preoccupied with his mother's health, and his performance at work is suffering as a result.

to remind - to help someone remember something, especially to remember to do something

Cristian wrote himself a note to remind himself to pick up milk at the grocery store on his way home from work.

to be wrapped up in (something) - to be busy with something; to be very involved in a project or task

The children were so wrapped up in watching the movie that they didn't hear their parents calling for them.

absentminded - forgetful and easily distracted; not able to remember things

He's so absentminded that he'd forget his own head if it weren't attached to his neck!

to jog (one's) memory - to remind someone of something; to help someone remember something

Seeing photos of old friends sometimes jogs our memory and helps us remember things that happened long ago.

committed to memory - memorized; known so well that one can repeat the details without looking at written notes

Do you have any favorite poems committed to memory?

a repeat of - a recurrence; something that happens again just like it did before

Last night, I had a repeat of that scary dream where I'm running away from a purple monster with sharp teeth.

to show up - to arrive at a particular place at a particular time; to come, especially if one is expected to be there

Please show up for your medical appointment 15 minutes early so you'll have enough time to fill out all the insurance paperwork.

amnesia - a medical condition in which one cannot remember what happened during a certain period of time, usually because one was hit on the head or had a very traumatic and frightening experience

After the car accident, Lorenzo had amnesia and couldn't remember what had happened.

incident - event; something that has happened

Please describe the key incidents that led to the beginning of World War I.

to throw in (someone's) face - to remind someone of something, especially when it is something that he or she would rather forget

Yes, I know I failed my driving test, but you don't have to throw it in my face. I already feel bad enough.

to give (someone) a hard time - to tease someone; to do and say things that make another person feel uncomfortable or sad

Why do all the kids at school give Fabio a hard time?

scatterbrained - easily distracted and unable to concentrate or focus

Roxana is so scatterbrained that she forgets to pick up her kids from school unless they call to remind her.