Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay Random
I have bad news for you: The original and correct expression is ‘nerve-racking’. It's meant to suggest the image of someone being tortured on the rack. ‘Nerve-wracking’ came along half a century later and is simply a homophone error, though a plausible one.
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There seems to be some debate on this point...possibly between the British and American usages or the archaic and the present. Interesting - wasn't aware of the brain-racking...or brain-wracking....over it.
Gotta love etymology!