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NL888 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Does "wax apocalyptic" mean "amplify the apocalypse"?
Context:
Even stronger words have emanated from Richard Dawkins. In a series of books beginning with The Selfish Gene
and extending through The Blind Watchmaker, Climbing Mount Improbable, and A Devil's Chaplain, Dawkins outlines with compelling analogies and rhetorical flourishes the consequences of variation and natural selection. Standing on this Darwinian foundation, Dawkins then extends his conclusions to religion in highly aggressive terms: "It is fashionable to wax apocalyptic about the threat to humanity posed by the AIDS virus, 'mad cow' disease, and many others, but I think a case can be made that faith is one of the world's great evils, comparable to the smallpox virus but harder to eradicate."
Even stronger words have emanated from Richard Dawkins. In a series of books beginning with The Selfish Gene
and extending through The Blind Watchmaker, Climbing Mount Improbable, and A Devil's Chaplain, Dawkins outlines with compelling analogies and rhetorical flourishes the consequences of variation and natural selection. Standing on this Darwinian foundation, Dawkins then extends his conclusions to religion in highly aggressive terms: "It is fashionable to wax apocalyptic about the threat to humanity posed by the AIDS virus, 'mad cow' disease, and many others, but I think a case can be made that faith is one of the world's great evils, comparable to the smallpox virus but harder to eradicate."
Top answer
e. in this case in an apocalyptic manner.
- e.
- in this case in an apocalyptic manner.
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1 Answers
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In this case "wax" means "begin to speak or write about something in the specified manner" (http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/wax--2) -- i.e. in this case in an apocalyptic manner.
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