Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2018 January 30

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January 30

'Wane' = 'grow smaller'

How can things grow smaller? Doesn't 'grow' imply getting bigger? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hofhof (talk • contribs) 23:28, 30 January 2018 (UTC)

"My time grows short." -- The Ghost of Christmas Past. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:45, 30 January 2018 (UTC)

The Oxford Dictionary's definition 3 ("Become gradually or increasingly") and Webster's definition 4 ("to pass into a condition") are applicable here. Clarityfiend (talk) 02:10, 31 January 2018 (UTC)

• Talk about deja vu! About 23:28, 30 January 2018 (UTC) I was in class when a student became confused by "wane" so I said "grow smaller". This seems perfectly ntural, as "grow" as opposed to "shrink" is a positive term. That is, negative growth sounds fine, while positive shrinkage is ambiguous, and shrink larger is oxymoronic at best. μηδείς (talk) 04:00, 31 January 2018 (UTC)

That expression is a good example of an oxymoron - which doesn't mean that it is wrong. You will also come across plenty of adverts for things to make you grow younger. Wymspen (talk) 14:16, 31 January 2018 (UTC)

The OED has "grow down" " To become less in height or in size" and "wax less" with cites from the early sixteenth century onwards, so it's an old oxymoron. Dbfirs 21:04, 3 February 2018 (UTC)