[Idiom] someone's mind swam

Status
Not open for further replies.

joeoct

Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Poland
Hi,

What's exactly the meaning of this idiom?

Thanks,
Joe
 

Leandro-Z

Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Spanish
Home Country
Argentina
Current Location
Argentina
If your mind swam, you let your imagination flow.
 

joeoct

Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Poland

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
If your mind swam, you let your imagination flow.
Are you sure? I've always taken it to mean that the person became confused. "My mind started swimming" - I was confused, I didn't know what I was thinking about; there were too many thoughts in my head to deal with ...
"When I heard that Peter had been arrested for murder, my mind started swimming."
 

joeoct

Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Poland
Are you sure? I've always taken it to mean that the person became confused. "My mind started swimming" - I was confused, I didn't know what I was thinking about; there were too many thoughts in my head to deal with ...
"When I heard that Peter had been arrested for murder, my mind started swimming."

"I was confused" makes sense in a sentence in which I found it.
 

Leandro-Z

Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Spanish
Home Country
Argentina
Current Location
Argentina
Could you please bring us the context? It would help us solve it and assist you.
 

joeoct

Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Poland
Could you please bring us the context? It would help us solve it and assist you.

It's solved.
There were too many thoughts in the head of a character, so his mind swam.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
I've never heard "my mind was swimming" though it clearly exists. I have always heard "my head was swimming", also meaning "I was confused".
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top