The “Tip of the Tongue” Phenomenon: What It Is & What It Means for You

While working through the Sunday crossword, I found myself in a frustratingly familiar situation. The clue was: “pleasure derived from someone else’s misfortune,” and I knew I knew it—I just couldn’t fish it out of my brain! That clue tantalized me for the rest of the puzzle until I was finally able to solve it with the help of a few more letters (keep reading for the answer). It felt like scratching an itch in my mind.

We’ve all been there—you’re in the middle of something, and the word you’re searching for is right there, hovering just beyond reach. It’s maddening, isn’t it? It actually has a name: the “tip of the tongue” (ToT) phenomenon—a universal experience as intriguing as it is annoying. If you haven’t experienced this in awhile, here are a few prompts that might get you there (don’t worry, I’ll include all of the answers at the end bottom). 

1. What word is used to describe a sentence that reads the same forwards and backwards, such as “Was it a cat I saw?”
2. What is the word for fear of spiders?
3. Who is the Greek god of the Underworld?
4. What is the captain’s name in Moby Dick? Bonus: What’s the name of his ship?
5. Who does Humphrey Bogart play in Casablanca?

Now, while you rack your brain for those answers, let’s unpack what ToT is.

What Exactly Is ToT?

The “tip of the tongue” phenomenon is a lapse in recall that often involves proper nouns (names, places, or specific objects)—words that typically have a single, correct label. This could be because our brains are wired to link proper nouns with memories, which makes it harder to retrieve them when they are buried deep in our cognitive reserve (Kreuz & Roberts, 2020). As you may have guessed, studies show that ToT tends to occur more frequently as we get older. However, before you chalk up recent recall woes to cognitive decline, let’s take a closer look.

Sifting Through the Research

It turns out that experiencing these lapses in memory may also be a sign of knowledge (Cleary et al., 2021). While it is true that researchers linked age-related loss of gray matter to ToT in 2008, there are likely more pieces to this puzzle. New work points out that the more information we have stored in our brains, the more we have to parse through to find what we’re looking for. This is doubly hard when we’re looking for a specific word/moment combination. All told, this means that those frustrating ToT moments might be more about your brain being full than about it being slow.

A range of studies over the years has sought to explore why ToT happens and what it means. For instance, a 2020 study examining both age and subjective memory complaints (SMCs) found that while older adults reported more ToT experiences, these moments were not necessarily linked to decline in cognitive storage (Kim, Kim, & Yoon, 2020). Rather, the frequency of ToT occurrences might reflect changes in how our brains process phonological information (i.e., sound). 

The Role of Phonology & Neural Pathways

Phonology is the study of sounds and their organization in the brain. When you experience a ToT moment, you might notice that you can recall the first letter or the number of syllables in the word you’re looking for. This is because our brains store and retrieve words based on their phonological structure, and even if we can’t pull up the entire word, we can often retrieve fragments of it, as evidenced in this 1991 study. This means that the knowledge is there, it’s just more difficult to access than before. Think of your brain as a library. The ToT words are rarely-read, hyper-specialized books on the top shelf.

ToT Moments & Dementia: Should You Be Worried?

It’s easy to worry that frequent ToT moments might be an early sign of dementia, but there’s no need to panic. While ToT can increase with age, it is not necessarily a precursor to more severe cognitive issues. Dementia is characterized by a range of symptoms that go beyond occasional forgetfulness, including consistent memory loss, difficulty in problem-solving, and changes in mood or behavior.

So, What Does This Mean for You?

First and foremost, don’t stress too much when you find yourself grasping for an elusive word (unless it is the only thing standing between you and breaking a crossword record). ToT moments are not only normal but might actually be a sign that your brain is working hard to keep track of all the knowledge and experiences you’ve accumulated over the years. You are smarter than you think; after all, it’s not the absence of knowledge but the effort of retrieval that triggers a ToT moment.

But how can you keep those words on the tip of your tongue rather than lost in the recesses of your brain? One way is to challenge yourself continually—read more fiction, engage in conversations, explore new music, and dive into unfamiliar media. Additionally, adopting regular physical exercise habits and making brain-healthy foods a priority will go a long way. 

If you’re interested in learning more about this phenomenon and the cognitive processes underlying our language ability, particularly as we age, check out Professor Roger Kreus and Richard Roberts book, Changing Minds: How Aging Affects Language and How Language Affects Aging. It emphasizes the importance of lifelong learning and curiosity, both of which will help in keeping you sharp.

Final Thoughts & Answers

In conclusion, while ToT moments can be frustrating, they are a natural part of the cognitive aging process. Rather than viewing them as a sign of decline, see them as evidence of your brain’s ongoing activity. Embrace those moments, laugh them off, and keep challenging your mind. After all, if you’re reading this, you’re already off to a solid start.

P.S. I know what you’ve all been waiting for. The word in my crossword was German: Schadenfreude. And here are the answers:

1. Palindrome
2. Arachnophobia
3. Hades
4. Captain Ahab, Pequod
5. Rick Blaine