Language: en
Meaning: (idiomatic)To becomementallycomposed, especially after beingdistressed,surprised, ordisoriented; to becomecalmororganizedin one'semotionalstate or thinking, as in preparation for aconversation,speech,decision, etc.Synonyms:collect one's wits,gather one's thoughts,gather one's wits1820,Washington Irving, “The Early Experiences of Ralph Ringwood,”, inThe Crayon Papers:I got up feverish and nervous. I walked out before breakfast, striving tocollect my thoughtsand tranquilize my feelings.1857,Charlotte Brontë, chapter 7, inThe Professor:I took a moment tocollect my thoughts, and likewise to frame in French the sentence by which I proposed to open business.1917,L. Frank Baum, chapter 7, inThe Lost Princess of Oz:She fell sprawling upon a green meadow and was so dazed and bewildered by her bumpy journey across the Merry-Go-Round Mountains that she lay quite still for a time tocollect her thoughts.2001July 30, Dean E. Murphy, “Political Memo; Being Mike Bloomberg, Without a Script or a Doubt”, inNew York Times, retrieved 11 Oct. 2008:"I'm a believer, umm," Mr. Bloomberg said before standing silently at the lectern for seven seconds as hecollected his thoughts.
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