Is it wracking my brain or racking my brain?
The spelling ‘rack’ is now used in all senses except for the seaweed called wrack. So it’s “rack and ruin,” … “racking my brains,” and so on. Some other usage guides provide a way of dealing with this question that has a certain brutal charm: just stop using the word wrack.
What does wracking my brain mean?
think very hard
: to think very hard in order to try to remember something, solve a problem, etc. I’ve been racking my brain, but I can’t remember his name.
Is it nerve racking or wracking?
“Nerve-racking” is the original and correct spelling of this phrase, which describes something that makes you extremely nervous. “Nerve-wracking” is a widely-used and well-established variant spelling. Many editors and usage dictionaries find it acceptable, but purists and prescriptivists consider it an error.
Where does the phrase nerve racking come from?
If something makes you very anxious is it nerve-racking or nerve-wracking? The first recorded use of nerve-racking is in a letter by the poet Shelley in 1812, telling his friend he is glad to be away from the “nerve-racking and spirit-quelling metropolis”.
How do you use your brain rack?
to think very hard: I’ve been racking my brains all day but I can’t remember her name. considerDon’t make any decisions before you’ve considered the matter.
What is the difference between racked and wracked?
Rack and Wrack as Nouns As a noun, rack means a frame, a shelf, an instrument of torture, or a state of intense anguish. The noun wrack means destruction or wreckage. Idiomatically, we may rack the billiard balls, rack up points, and roast a rack of lamb.
How do you use the word nerve wracking?
Nerve-wracking sentence example
- It was nerve wracking not to know what was happening.
- You can get up close in a flat-bottomed skiff – but prepare yourself for a pretty nerve-wracking experience.
- It was fun, but a little nerve wracking .
- Asking someone to dance is always nerve-wracking, whether you’re a boy or a girl.
What is a nerve wracking experience?
also nerve-wracking. adjective. A nerve-racking situation or experience makes you feel very tense and worried. The women and children spent a nerve-racking day outside waiting while fighting continued around them.
How do you use nerve racking in a sentence?
Nerve-racking sentence example Cynthia didn’t answer and the silence became nerve racking . Preparing for the birth of a baby is an exciting, albeit nerve-racking, time. Working under the glare of the camera was both nerve-racking and fun.
Can I pick your brain?
to ask someone’s advice about a subject the person knows a lot about: Can I pick your brain about how you got rid of those weeds?
What is it to be racked?
to torture; distress acutely; torment: His body was racked with pain. to stretch the body of (a person) in torture by means of a rack: taken to the dungeon to be racked.
