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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Much debate has been occasioned on another board I frequent by the expression wrack/rack and ruin. The conclusion was that the version with w was preferred by USns and the version without w was preferred elsewhere but that either was acceptable anywhere.
Any comments from the floor?
Bingley
Bingley
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Wrack and ruin. That's how I'd spell the phrase.
Here are some interesting definitions of the verb "to rack" since I use the phrase "racked my brain" occasionally:
"1 : to torture on the rack
2 : to cause to suffer torture, pain, or anguish
3 a : to stretch or strain violently <racked his brains> b : to raise (rents) oppressively c : to harass or oppress with high rents or extortions
4 : to work or treat (material) on a rack
5 : to work by a rack and pinion or worm so as to extend or contract <rack a camera>
6 : to seize (as parallel ropes of a tackle) together
7 : to place (as pool balls) in a rack
intransitive senses : to become forced out of shape or out of plumb"
From MW online.
Favorite definition of rack as a noun: a mass of usually broken-up wind driven clouds
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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The hopelessly descriptive AHD2 makes no mention of rack in its definition of wrack. It lists, as its fourth entry for rack, [Variant of WRACK]
AHD4 says wrack, also rack.
with w was preferred by USns and the version without w was preferred elsewhere
And y'all accuse *us of Reader's Digest Spelling©!
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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My personal view is that a rack is a framework and I would use that spelling in expressions having that connection such as ‘racked with pain’ because this use derives from the torture rack which is a framework. The expression 'nerve-racking' also conveys the idea of nerves stretched to breaking point. Wrack, however, I would relate to wrecking, breaking up and tearing apart. So I would use ‘wrack and ruin’ and ‘wreak havoc’.
In WW's Favorite definition of rack as a noun: a mass of usually broken-up wind driven clouds I would spell that as 'wrack'. If it described a sky with a series of bar shaped clouds with blue sky in between, such as you sometimes see, I would spell that 'rack' due to its resemblence to a rack or grid.
That is just my approach, I'm sure other logic could be applied. I don’t think it matters very much that the two spellings are used with no particular consistency. The context mostly sorts out the meaning.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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AHD2 lists wrack as a variant of rack in reference to clouds. It defines it as a thin mass of wind-driven clouds.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Well, ain't that jus' the cat's pajamas!
We US'ns spell the verb wrack and the cloudy noun rack (usually), and the cross-ponders go counterclockwise or clockwise to US, depending upon your point of view...
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Don't take me as being typical of cross-pond thinking in this! I stressed it was personal. Never bothered to figure out what others were doing.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Blow winds blow! Wreak wrack Wreck and ruin.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Oh dear, there we were, YARTing away happily and unknowingly. As usual, Jackie had trod there ahead of us.  Sorry Jackie.
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