Hmm. Have an itch? Do you scratch it or itch it? English can be so irritating (pun intended).

Scratch

Scratch as a verb most commonly means to tend to an itch, usually by scraping it with your fingernails. But here’s the rub: it can also be a noun. If you get an owie (perhaps you call them “boo-boos”), it might be a scratch. Maybe you scraped yourself against something, resulting in a thin red line in your skin that hurts, but it didn’t quite break the skin enough to require stitches. It’s minor; it’s a scratch.

Itch

Can “itch” be a verb too? Yes, but it’s not a synonym of the scratch verb mentioned above. Many people seem to think it is, evidenced by the way they use it in speech. You do not “itch an itch,” nor do you “itch an itchy scratch.” You can only scratch an itch or scratch an itchy scratch (sometimes, during the healing process, a scratch becomes irritated and itchy, so it requires careful scratching to not disturb the scab that is forming). An itch as a noun is something that is remedied by being scratched, not itched (since that isn’t a thing).

Itch as a verb simply means to cause an itch, like how wool socks can itch your feet, making them itchy and in need of a good scratch (not a “good itch,” because again, that’s not a thing).

Scratch That Itch!

So there you go! Because of the power of suggestion, perhaps you are feeling itchy after reading this. If so, scratch on!