“Rare” or “Rear”?

We make choices. I knew when I wrote it the correct word was “rears,” and 99 times out of 100 I let the editors and copyeditors save me from myself, but sometimes nothing is more delicious than intentionally deploying the colloquial misusage of yer original milieu. I’ve performed that passage at hundreds and hundreds of live gigs over the years, and the way the audience titters when “rares back” hits–the key is to take a beat after that comma–I know it’s the right call. The perfect setup for the escalating ridiculousness of the rest of it. I can’t believe I get to do this stuff.

(Passage from Truck: A Love Story)