Thinking and learning

to baffle

to puzzle, to perplex

guesswork

speculation

a hunch

a feeling, an intuition

plausible

believable, possible

to come around

change one's position or opinion

to face up to sth

to accept

to mull over

to ponder, to consider

to piece together

to combine many small details to give a complete description of something

to swot up on sth

to cram

to take account of

to pay attention to sb/sth

on account of sth

because of sth

to hang in the balance

to depend on something for success or continued existence

on balance

after considering everything "They felt sure that, on balance, they had made the right choice."

to pick sb's brain

to ask for information or advice from someone who knows more about a subject than you do "I'd love to pick your brains about computers - you seem to be the expert around here."

forgone conclusion

Cliché a conclusion already reached; an inevitable result. "That the company was moving to California was a foregone conclusion. That the mayor will win reelection is a foregone conclusion."

to cast doubt on

to cause uncertainty about something

without a doubt

a phrase expressing certainty or agreement; yes

to make a mental note

to make an effort to remember something, often something that you want to do later (often + to do sth)

a one-track mind

a mind that thinks entirely or almost entirely about one subject

take sb's mind off sth/sb

if an activity takes someone's mind off their problems, it stops them from thinking about them

to be in two minds

to be unable to decide about something (often + whether)

in principle

as a general idea, theory, or belief

to side with sb

to join with someone; to take someone else's part; to be on someone's side

to put/ set sth straight

to figure out and correct something; to straighten out a mess

to have your wits about you

to be ready to think quickly in a situation and react to things that you are not expecting

to be in the dark

to be uninformed about someone or something; ignorant about someone or something

not have a leg to stand on

[for an argument or a case] to have no support.

not see the wood for the trees

to pay too much attention to details and not understand the general situation

quick on the uptake

quick to understand or learn something

to split hairs

to argue about whether details that are not important are exactly correct