9/19/2023 0 Comments Rack my brain wrack my brain![]() Various tries at Ngram suggest that the wrack versions started around the beginning of the 20th century, and are far less common,with the 'wracked with' versions being a bit more relatively common than 'wrack your brains'. 'All the complexities of this exceedingly complicated word cannot be set down here: spare an hour (at least) to consult a large dictionary, esp the OED'ĭaily Writing Tips has no such doubts, though. Īnd he quotes Burchfield,from the 3rd ed of Fowler's: Michael Quinion at World Wide Words, also tends ton go along with this tolerant approach, suggesting that there seem to be good arguments on either side. Macmillan, Longman and Collins all accept wrack as an alternative spelling, although Chambers say it is usually regarded as an error.īack in 1755, Samuel Johnson also listed 'wrack' with the meaning of to torture or torment, but says that it 'is commonly written rack'. In addition, the phrase rack and ruin can also be spelled wrack and ruin.' can, however, be spelled either rack or wrack: thus racked with guilt or wracked with guilt rack your brains or wrack your brains. 'The relationship between the forms rack and wrack is complicated. If you ever have questions about word choice or other confusing writing topics, come back and visit us at Writing Explained.According to Oxford Online, both are acceptable, wrack being a less frequent variation of the verb rack, in the meaning of 'cause extreme pain, anguish, or distress', and in a usage note they say: Nerve-racking is the standard spelling.Is it nerve-racking or nerve-wracking? Nerve-racking and nerve-wracking are alternative spellings of the same adjective, referring to something stressful or anxiety-inducing. Now, there is no need to rack your brain anymore. Unless you are talking about seaweed, default to nerve-racking. This makes choosing nerve-racking incredibly easy. In all senses of the word (with the exception of seaweed), choose rack. Unless you are specifically guided to use AP Style by your employer, publisher, teacher, etc., you can remember nerve-racking vs. Rack = various types of framework (noun) to arrange on said framework, to torture, to torment (verb)Īs I started this post off, these two words are somewhat complicated, so I now want to distill all of this information into something concise and actionable for the average writer who is simply looking to clear his writing of mistakes and typos.If you are writing in AP Style, here are its general requirements, ![]() The AP Stylebook holds that the noun wrack is to be used in the sense of ruin or destruction, which most publications and dictionaries reserve for rack (or at least they prefer it)ĪP Style specifically prefers the spellings wrack and ruin, wracked with pain, and nerve-wracking. – The GuardianĪpparently, however, not everyone in the writing community agrees with the common consensus of general usage.
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