USAGE: [w]rack
| From: | James Campbell <james@...> |
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| Date: | Tuesday, April 11, 2000, 8:14 |
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Jon Kauan eskrïremä:
> Matt Pearson wrote:
>
> > >Wouldn't be much room for Mormonism in Utah, or in the There Universe?
> > >Racking (or is it _wracking_) my meagre general knowledge,
>
> Missed this one before. "Racking", as in the instrument of torture.
> "Wrack" is the noun form of "wreak", allied to "wreck", and is best used
only in
> "sea-wrack" and "cloud-wrack".
An expression long-used in our family is "to rack one's brain", i.e. to
struggle to remember something. SOED has:
# Rack v(3)
# 1. ... c. To torture, distract, lacerate (the mind, soul, etc.) 1576 ...
# 3.b. To strain, task severely (the mind, brain, etc.) 1583.
# [Quote:] Racking his wits to contrive exquisite complements 1880.
"Wrack"'s meanings (wreck, destroy, ruin usw.) are close enough to "rack"'s
for the words to be confused. For instance, I'm sure I've seen "wracked with
pain".
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james@zolid.com James Campbell Zeugma--Our Life Is Design www.zolid.com
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