lyödä tyhjää

Finnish

Verb

lyödä tyhjää

1. (intransitive, of a machine or mechanism) to run without doing anything useful, e.g. a (nautical) screw running in air, of wheels spinning freely without friction, of a chain that is too long, etc.
2. (idiomatic, impersonal + adessive) to draw a blank (be unable to recall something) or not get it (realize something that one should)
3. (idiomatic, impersonal + adessive) to skip a beat

Usage notes

For the two idiomatic senses, the verb is impersonal, because the subject is usually pää (for "to draw a blank") or sydän (for "to skip a beat"), although it may also be left out.

Inflection

See lyödä.