E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Cudgel One’s Brains (To).
To make a painful effort to remember or understand something. The idea is from taking a stick to beat a dull boy under the notion that dulness is the result of temper or inattention.
1
“Cudgel thy brains no more about it; for your dull ass will not mend his pace with heating.”—Shakespeare: Hamlet, v. 1.
