waxwork
nounEtymology From wax + work.
1
A figure made of wax, especially an effigy of a famous person.
- The amateur tenor, whose vocal villainies / All desire to shirk, / Shall during off-hours, / Exhibit his powers / To Madame Tussaud's waxwork.1885, Gilbert & Sullivan, The Mikado:
2
The art of producing such figures.
- Waxwork is a fine art, but it differs from all other fine arts in that its main purpose is one that is expressly rejected by all those other arts.1926, R. Austin Freeman, The D'Arblay Mystery:
- Related terms
- wax museum