{"id":10727,"date":"2022-11-16T22:16:39","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T22:16:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=10727"},"modified":"2022-11-16T22:16:39","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T22:16:39","slug":"waxing-nostalgic-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/waxing-nostalgic-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Waxing Nostalgic \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Does an older person in your life keep mournfully complaining that everything used to be better in the olden days? That person is \u201cwaxing nostalgic<\/strong>.\u201d Learn what this phrase means, where it came from, and how to use it in this post.<\/p>\n

Meaning<\/h2>\n

The phrase \u201cwaxing nostalgic<\/strong>\u201d or \u201cto wax nostalgic<\/strong>\u201d means speaking at length about one\u2019s feelings of nostalgia<\/u>, typically in a way that bores others.<\/p>\n

Nostalgia<\/strong> can be defined as yearning for the past<\/u> or remembering it fondly<\/u>. When someone waxes nostalgic, that person rants about their nostalgic feelings. Someone who waxes nostalgic typically describes the past as a much better time.<\/p>\n

Example Usage<\/h2>\n

Example sentences can help you better understand what a phrase means and prepare you to use it. These examples show how you can use the saying \u201cwaxing nostalgic\u201d in practice:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong, I really enjoy Uncle Jim\u2019s yearly visits. I love to go fishing with him, but watch out when he grabs that scotch and starts waxing nostalgic<\/strong> about working as a miner in his youth. You\u2019ll never hear the end of it!\u201d<\/li>\n
  • \u201cThose conservative politicians just wax nostalgic <\/strong>about how everything used to be better, but they have no real plans for the future.\u201d<\/li>\n
  • \u201cYeah, that professor is great if you like listening to people wax nostalgic<\/strong> while basically telling kids to get off her lawn. Skip that course if you\u2019re not into that kind of thing.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Origin<\/h2>\n

    The origin of the phrase \u201cto wax nostalgic<\/strong>\u201d is complex.<\/p>\n

    You have probably heard of a waxing moon<\/strong>. A waxing moon is the first half of the lunar cycle, during which the moon gradually becomes more visible.<\/p>\n

    This example illustrates one of the original meanings of the verb \u201cto wax,\u201d namely \u201cto grow<\/strong>\u201d or \u201cto increase in size<\/strong>.\u201d This word came from Proto-Germanic and became archaic by the 14th<\/sup> century. It remains in use only in specific contexts.<\/p>\n

    The moon cycle is one of these settings, and the other is in phrases that include the verb \u201cto wax.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u201cTo wax eloquent,\u201d which simply meant \u201cto talk a lot about,\u201d was the first of these phrases \u2014 it came into use in the 19th<\/sup> century<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWaxing poetic<\/strong>\u201d is another example of a similar phrase in which the speaker gets philosophical.<\/p>\n

    The word \u201cnostalgia,\u201d which initially meant homesickness and now means a yearning for the past, only entered the English language in the 18th<\/sup> century<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWaxing nostalgic\u201d likely emerged after \u201cwaxing eloquent\u201d and \u201cwaxing poetic\u201d, however.<\/p>\n

    The phrase \u201cwaxing nostalgic\u201d has become dated in the 21st<\/sup> century; this expression is only rarely used.\u00a0\u00a0 If you decide to incorporate it into your language, you can almost be said to be waxing nostalgic yourself.<\/p>\n

    Phrases Similar to Waxing Nostalgic<\/h2>\n

    Does the phrase \u201cto wax nostalgic\u201d not feel right? You could also say:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • The person who waxes nostalgic keeps going on about the \u201cgood old days<\/strong>.\u201d<\/li>\n
    • The person who waxes nostalgic likes to take \u201ctrips down memory lane<\/strong>.\u201d<\/li>\n
    • A nostalgic person might like to \u201cturn back the clock<\/strong>.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      You can also say that people who wax nostalgic \u201clive in the past<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Phrases Opposite to Waxing Nostalgic<\/h2>\n

      People who quickly adapt to new situations and forget about the past take a more pragmatic approach. Phrases that describe this attitude include:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Water under the bridge<\/strong> \u2014 meaning you can\u2019t change the past, and it\u2019s good to accept that fact.<\/li>\n
      • Let bygones be bygones <\/strong>\u2014 meaning it\u2019s not necessary to dwell on the past.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        \u201cCarpe diem<\/strong>\u201d, meaning \u201cpluck the day,\u201d is an optimistic phrase to describe this attitude.<\/p>\n

        What Is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n

        The correct saying is \u201cwaxing nostalgic<\/strong>.\u201d It means to rant about the past, which the person waxing nostalgic believes to be better than the present.<\/p>\n

        Ways People May Say Waxing Nostalgic Incorrectly<\/h2>\n

        English learners should keep in mind that waxing nostalgic has no connection to beeswax or waxing cars. The \u201cwaxing\u201d in the expression means \u201cto increase\u201d or \u201cgrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Acceptable Ways to Phrase Waxing Nostalgic<\/h2>\n

        You can say someone is waxing nostalgic when they talk about their past at length and express a yearning for an earlier and better time.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        The expression is outdated now, so more people will understand you if you simply say that someone \u201clikes to rant about the past.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Does an older person in your life keep mournfully complaining that everything used to be better in the olden days? That person is \u201cwaxing nostalgic.\u201d Learn what this phrase means, where it came from, and how to use it in this post. Meaning The phrase \u201cwaxing nostalgic\u201d or \u201cto wax nostalgic\u201d means speaking at length […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10727"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10727"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10729,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10727\/revisions\/10729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}