Can't think of a word or a name, even though you know you know it? This phenomenon is known as "tip of the tongue" -- and it happens to nearly everyone, young or old, at least once a week. As might be expected, the oldest people (aged 80 to 92) who participated in a recent UC Davis study of such lapses experienced this more often than those who were 18 to 24 or 61 to 74. However, the oldest people were usually able to retrieve a word or name, if given enough time. The study of 60 people examined diaries of such lapses, and found that the two oldest groups actually were more likely than younger people to resolve the lapse if not pressured for time. "If older people are willing to be patient and understand that as they get older it takes a little longer for the mental processes to happen, they will come up with the names and the information isn't lost," says Beth Ober, an associate professor of applied behavioral sciences at UC Davis who conducted the study with Marilyn Heine, a UC Davis doctoral student. Younger people, it turned out, were more worried about such lapses, and tried harder to retrieve words, says Ober. If caught in such a situation, Ober recommends using alphabet cueing to help find a word or name that's on the tip of your tongue.