Blow your mind


What's the meaning of the phrase 'Blow your mind'?

Expand your mind by use of hallucinatory drugs.

What's the origin of the phrase 'Blow your mind'?

This expression became a commonplace saying and slogan in the 1960s hippie era. The first exact reference to ‘blow your mind’ that I can find is from October 1965, when it appeared in Ohio newspaper The Sunday Messenger – in Jack Thomas’ Music Guide Top Ten:

“Pick Hit of the Week – Blow Your Mind – The Gas Co.”

Slightly earlier, in the same year, Bob Dylan used ‘blew my mind’, which is effectively the same expression, on the March 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home, in his song Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream:

A pay phone was ringin’ and it just about blew my mind

Whether Dylan coined the term or repeated something already on circulation isn’t clear, although it he was exceptionally creative lyrically at that period and his inventing of it is entirely plausible.

Trend of blow your mind in printed material over time

Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

Gary Martin

Writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.
Blow your mind

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