Wreak and Pique Revisited

Wreak and Pique Revisited Wreak and Pique Revisited Wreak and Pique Revisited By Maeve Maddox A plaintive email from a reader has prompted this post on these two misused and abused rhyming verbs: A new civil trialis poised to wreck havoc on the 100-year-old institutions reputation. Shouldnt that be wreak? And shouldnt My interest was peaked be My interest was piqued†? I see that everywhere it seems. Though peaked might be an okay substitute- it sort of means something similar. 1. Yes, the phrase should be â€Å"to wreak havoc.† 2. No, peaked is not an okay substitute for piqued. In modern usage, wreak [REEK] is a transitive verb usually followed by a limited number of object words that include vengeance, havoc, and damage. Storms are the most common wreakers. The past tense form is wreaked [REEKT]. Here are some examples of wreak being used correctly: Tropical storm Arthur expected to wreak havoc on East Coast Storms wreaking havoc across UK Northeasters also wreaked damage in 1991 and 1992. January Jones Discusses Wreaking Vengeance in the Sundance Film ‘Sweetwater’ The word pique [PEEK], as both noun and verb, has more than one meaning. The verb’s most common use is in the sense of stimulate or arouse. The past form is piqued [PEEKT]. Here are some examples in which the verb is spelled correctly: The request piqued my interest and I began what has become a continuing search for documentaries relating to the Comanches. Foreign cricket players hope to pique Lebanese interest New Study Provides Insight into How Piquing Curiosity Changes Our Brains It’s not surprising when entertainment site comments and self-published novels contain errors like these: I still have the feeling that Stavros is alive and the two of them will connect and reek havoc on Pt. Charles. It’s my understanding that you have been using him to wreck vengeance on the descendants of the clergy, and soldiers of New France because of some perceived wrong doing [sic]. I thought [Grimm] was ok. Ill probably keep watching, but the pilot didnt peak my interest right from the start. As one does expect news sources and professional publications to use words correctly, the following errors are less tolerable: Gov. Martin OMalley declared a state of emergency one day before a winter  storm  is  expected to wreck havoc  in Maryland- Baltimore Post Examiner. If  they  come from violent and abusive homes, children learn to be violentwill grow up to  wreck vengeance  on themselves and those around  them.- Social justice site. Four houses destroyed by fire and lightning as the weekends thunderstorms wrecked havoc across Britain- Daily Mail. Extremely high rain soaked [sic] winds wrecked havoc by downing trees and disrupting schools and traffic in the Bay Area- ABC News. All the teachers are engaging and do their best to peak the interest of the student.- Site advertising private school in Washington DC. Though we were enjoying a near perfect day in Oakland, hearing the name Birmingham not only peaked his interest but also placed him back on the Jim Crow bus system in Alabama.- Huffington Post columnist. Misspelling pique is perhaps more understandable than misspelling wreak because peak, peek, and pique are all pronounced the same. Pronunciation offers no excuse for mixing up wreak [REEK] and wreck [REK], however. Bottom line: Speakers who care about the language don’t require excuses for misspelling words they use in daily speech. They learn the differences. Related posts: Wreck, Wreak, and Other [rek/reek] Words Reeking and Wreaking Please, Let Your Interest Be Piqued Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Idioms About TalkingDo you "orient" yourself, or "orientate" yourself?1,462 Basic Plot Types