4 posts - 3 authors - Last post: Apr 5So I've been racking my brain for the past few days, grappling with an . but the Online Etymology Dictionary does offer some interesting if .

I racked my brain for the answer. Choose the . I'll have some cold slaw with my fried chicken, please. ? I'll have . What is the etymology of this word? Choose .

Sep 10, 2007 – Which is right? racking my brain or wracking my brain. i'm confuse!?

May 19, 2011 – I'm French, and I'm racking my brain as I cannot find a satisfying French . So, in the quest for true etymology of the term, I guess we have to find .

May 28, 2011 – Etymology: Middle High Well-Balanced English, from Old Unbalanced . I asked, buying some time and racking my brain to pull up the Chinese .

Apr 30, 2008 – Okay, I've been racking my brain, and I still don't see the pun. Please . The word he should have used is "pantiwaist" because its origin is .

10 posts - 6 authors - Last post: Jul 21, 2005I've racked my brains trying to come up with a good example of this . to words of pre-Elizabethan origin, it often becomes too compendious to .

Mar 9, 2009 – I'm going to rack my brains on this question. . . I just think there are ways to go about it that are more fun, from an etymological point of view. .

May 17, 2011 – In the middle of writing a sentence, I rack my brain for a more zesty word than the bland one staring back at me. Frustrated, I type my word .

May 26, 2010 – In the week gone by I had dealings with my own frailties. . of a blank Word document, racking my brain for what's called “a brilliant idea”. . . Stan Carey's erudite yet accessible blog about linguistics, etymology and writing. .

9 posts - 5 authors - Last post: Apr 12, 2007Surely these words have different etymologies, but if one can simply . I've always understood “rack my brain” in the sense of “racking pool .

Sep 19, 2011 – I then spent the next hour racking my poor befuddled brain, trying to . There was also a “list,” of unknown origin, that meant simply “”flank of .

Which is correct — "racking my brain" or "wracking my brain"? . "Racking." The etymology has to do with the medieval torture device, believe it or not. .

23 posts - 21 authors - Last post: Sep 21So I was racking my brain to figure out whether I was wracking or . the torture rack. or maybe it's a different root/word origin altogether. oed .

5 answers - Apr 9, 2009Where did the phrase "racking my brain" come from? A couple of different sources say this: The word rack in racking (one's) brain derives from .

1 Finnish. 1.1 Etymology; 1.2 Verb. 1.2.1 Conjugation . hänelle .

5 posts - 3 authors - Last post: May 3I racked my brain for a mnemonic; perhaps remembering that juries and . Knowing the exact etymologies now makes it more likely that if I ever .

Feb 25, 2009 – To continue this series, I have been racking my brain to try to come up . me to research the meaning and origin of the phrase "rack your brain". .

Racked my brain . Origin Like this word? . Origin: before 900; Middle English wrak (noun), Old English wræc vengeance, misery, akin to wracu vengeance, .

Aug 11, 2006 – Nobody else seems to be taking this seriously, but etymology and word usage are my life. The correct form is "racking my brain", .

Feb 1, 2006 – Should it be racking my brain or wracking my brain? And it made me wonder about its origin. Do you have any information about this phrase?" .

Jun 13, 2000 – Dear Word Detective: I've "racked" my brain trying to .

Feb 25, 2008 – . went wrong.” what's the origin of that phrase. .

Feb 28, 2008 – When I googled “racking my brain” I got 295000 hits. When I googled “wracking my . . What is the origin of the term "smart alec?"? warpling | 8 .

12 posts - 7 authors - Last post: Dec 6, 2010What's the Etymology of your PF Name? General Discussion . you've answered! I've been racking my brain for deities with the initials B and H. .

10 answers - Oct 30, 2009I've been racking my brain to try and remember where this phrase, or a phrase very much like it comes from, but with little luck. It could be a .

4. origin or beginning from its conception the plan was a failure .

4 posts - 4 authors - Last post: Apr 21The OED has an extensive etymology that the "x" ending is probably from . Racked my brain and couldn't think of another solid example. .

5 answers - Mar 1, 2008Should it be racking my brain or wracking my brain? And it made me wonder about its origin. Do you have any information about this phrase?" .

6 posts - 5 authors - Last post: Apr 14, 2009stranger. Registered: 04/08/09. Posts: 2. Many thanks. been racking my brain on this one for months. and today I discovred this forum! Top .

Find dictionary definitions, audio pronunciations, and spellings for brain .

wadhat an etymology of "birthday cake" and "icing" in rap lyrics earlier today, . I racked my brain for references, and in the scope of my hip hop .

lizlemon: bunnyvictorious:reallykatie: i am racking my brain right now and cannot . Here is some etymological history if you are into that sort of thing. .

Jan 7, 2009 – I tremble in my boots to disagree with you but I think my etymology of “rack your brains” is not without substance. Let me know what you think. .

Information about wrack brain in the free online English dictionary and .

Is it spelled racking my brain or wracking my brain? Improve . To "rack one's brain" is idiomatic. If you search "rack" . ORIGIN from Dutch rec, Low German rek . .

Often used in the plural: has brains and good looks. . rack (one's) brain Informal To think long and hard: I racked my brain for hours trying to recall her name. .

14 posts - 10 authors - Last post: Aug 14Origin: "The term *stroke* was coined by Parker Turner, the original . . I have racked my brain every time I read the term being used with a .

1 English. 1.1 Alternative forms; 1.2 Etymology; 1.3 Verb. 1.3.1 Translations . I have been racking my brain all day trying to think of a birthday present for her. .

21 posts - 12 authors - Last post: May 3I racked my brain for a mnemonic; perhaps remembering that juries and . . Knowing the exact etymologies now makes it more likely that if I ever .

Countless times I've turned to Google for the answer. In the middle of .

Feb 21, 2007 – The brain-bregma etymology proved long-lived, and 19th-century . The French word was probably of Celtic origin. . I racked my brains. .

Aug 13, 2010 – I racked my brain on this one, looking at all the available comparanda . is much too brief for a labyrinthine etymology such as this because the .

Feb 26, 2011 – That day, sitting respectfully in the court room, I racked my brain trying to recall Shakespeare's use of the word “smell.” Months have passed .

Aug 27, 2011 – Staci here, racking my brain for clichés to talk about. . . all kinds of online sources , such as the aforementioned Online Etymological Dictionary. .

3 answersWhat does rack my brain mean? ChaCha Answer: "Rack my brain" means to think long and hard. The etymology of this idiom is not known. .

To think long and hard: I racked my brain for hours trying to recall her name. . . of the brain having the most recent phylogenetic origin; the cerebral cortex and .

7 posts - 6 authors - Last post: Feb 23, 2008Ok, so I've been racking my brain for a few days now. . worry too much about words not matching up exactly with their etymologies, though. .

8.1 Pronunciation; 8.2 Etymology; 8.3 Cardinal numeral; 8.4 Article. 8.4.1 .

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