Amanda Rae (songofdestiny) wrote in linguaphiles,
Amanda Rae
songofdestiny
linguaphiles

"Racked up"

Someone pointed out to me that I say "racked up" quite a bit - and, according to this particular speaker, they consider it bizarre and asked why I wouldn't say "raked up" instead. For instance, I said, "I racked my brain but couldn't find anything," and then later asked, "What bad karma have I racked up to deserve this?"

Now, I understand that racked up in this sense is some sort of English idiom, but what I'm wondering is, how common is it in every day speech? Has anyone heard it used frequently, or is it one of those oddball phrases? And any idea where it might have come from or is more prominent - is it American English, British English, universally English, what have you? Now that I think about it, I haven't heard very many people aside from myself use it, regardless of where I happen to go, so it's rather got me thinking.
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  • Anatomy of a "CUNT"

    The word CUNT is not simple, but compound. It consists of two parts. However, first of all, let's get rid of prejudices. The word CUNT is as…

  • a Russian name for the letter Q

    The letter Q looks like the letter O , but with a small tail at the bottom. Could the name of the letter Q relate to this tail? It is…

  • The Touchy Subject

    Apparently, English etymologists are ticklish. That's why they don't want to touch on some sensitive topics. And very important ones. Let's take…