text: what does the phrase "wax poetically" mean?  where did it come from? i've heard it before, but i'm not sure what it means. yeah, the above answer is close:  to "wax poetic" means to become increasingly verbose and romantic in speech.  to become more and more like a poem.  "wax" = increase, "wane" = decrease.  i.e., "not to wax poetic, but your eyes glimmer like the ocean on a summer evening..."