We have been doing a lot of waxing around here lately, some waxing poetic, some waxing wroth.

Actually this introduction is just an excuse to bring some more of Groucho Marx' humor* to you as Groucho plays with the term "waxing wroth":

"In the Marx Brothers' movie Horse Feathers, Groucho Marx, playing waggish university president and professor Quincy Adams Wagstaff, is informed by his secretary: "The Dean is furious. He's waxing wroth." To which Groucho ripostes: "Is Roth out there too? Tell Roth to wax the Dean for a while."

Aside from the very funny image of two distinguished professor types buffing each other to a nice shine, the question this raises is:

What's waxing? And, for that matter, what's wroth? (Bonus word of the day within word of the day: wroth means 'angry.' Think 'wrath,' and also 'writhe.') 'Wroth' is an adjective, as is 'poetic,' and this is your clue, Holger, that nowadays one typically neither waxes a thing, nor waxes "how."

Now, excuse me while I wax pedantic.

Wax the verb (when not referring to actions involving the use of real or metaphorical [bees]wax-like substances, which share a different, though contested, etymology) derives from an Old English word weaxan meaning 'to become,' and counts among its Indo-European relations the German wachsen 'to grow, to evolve,' the Latin augere 'to increase,' the Greek auxánein, 'to grow, to increase,' and the Sanskrit uks 'to grow.' The earliest sense of the verb wax, first attested in the 8th century, was 'to grow; to increase in extent, quantity, intensity, power, etc.' It was used intransitively with subjects both animate and inanimate, so that one might say of oneself "Ich am wel waxen" (c1300), and of things less tangible, "His Art, still wexing, sweetly marrieth His quavering fingers to his warbling breath" (1598). This usage of wax has waned in modern times, except in reference to the moon, and in opposition to its more popular sibling, 'wane' (admit it, you didn't blink when I used it in the first part of this sentence, did you?)"

http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20000921

* "I drink to your charm, your beauty and your brains — which gives you an idea of how desperate I am for a drink." [From "A Toast to 2005", New Year's thread]

A Toast to Dr. Bill who is always with us -- and who will always be with us.

Clink!

Note: This "waxing" thread was suggested by Dr. Bill who thought Groucho would get us all in the mood for all the merrymaking tonight.

I'll Clink! to that, Dr. Bill!