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Which do you use, nerve-wracking or nerve-racking? I hadn't seen the latter before. However, it seems to be the preferred use, and the OED has wracking cited from 1909, while racked is from 1893. | ||
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They are alternative spellings. There are a a couple of other similar idiomatic uses, such as (w)rack and ruin. Dictionary.com says that it comes from OE wræc "misery, punishment," and wrecan "to punish, drive out" There's also a usage note,
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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