put your thinking cap on
/ˌpʊt jə ˈθɪŋkɪŋ ˌkæp ɒn/INFORMAL · B2
Meaning
to concentrate hard on how to solve a problem
Examples
- 1We need a new name for the book club, so let's all put our thinking caps on.
- 2Put your thinking cap on and tell me how we can get the sofa up these narrow stairs.
- 3The quiz team put their thinking caps on and came up with an answer just before time ran out.
- 4If you put your thinking cap on, I'm sure you'll find a cheaper way to fix the roof.
- 5Can you put your thinking cap on and work out why the Wi-Fi keeps dropping?
Grammar
put changes: puts, putting; the past form is also put. your changes to match the subject; with a plural subject, say put our thinking caps on.
Similar in meaning
More idioms about education
All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →play truantto stay away from school without permissiona mine of informationa person who knows a lot of useful factsthe school of hard knockslearning from difficult experiences in life rather than from lessonshit the booksto start studying seriously, especially before examsget the hang ofto learn how to do something that is not simple at firstit's not rocket scienceit is easy to understand or do
English Idioms400 idioms in 20 topics — with reviews that keep them from fading
Here you get a couple of questions. The app gives you 16 practice modes, native equivalents and spaced repetition that tells you when it’s time to refresh.
