"CRACK BRAINS" is widely used, but it is wrong. "RACK BRAINS" is hardly expressed, but it is correct. Hahahaaaaaa! Indeed, "CRACK BRAINS" is one of the common errors in Ghanaian English, but it may be acceptable in the interest of communication and NOT linguistic precision. The right expression is "RACK BRAINS" which is also spelt as "WRACK BRAINS."

According to Oxford Dictionary of English, to RACK or WRACK one's brains implies to make a great effort to think of or remember something. Example in usage: Napaga Tiyumba RACKS her brains any time she writes an examination. And in Azidoopedia - a new encyclopedia authored by Azindoo and Azinpaga - to CRACK one's brains means to break the brains into pieces. May Allah forbid!

Therefore, colleague learner, never CRACK your brains, for I need you and your brains to continue to contribute to your favorite Literary Discourse. Hahhahaaaaa!

 

By Abubakar Mohammed Marzuq Azindoo, Coordinator of Students and University Relations, University of Applied Management (UAM), Germany – Ghana Campus, McCarthy Hill, Accra and Tamale

Email: azindoo200@gmail.com Tel: 0244755402