hear oneself think, can't

hear oneself think, can't idiom
Be unable to concentrate because there is too much noise. For example, There was so much noise from the jackhammers we couldn't hear ourselves think. [Early 1900s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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