Not Waving but Drowning Not Drowning, Waving takes their name from the poem. The underground '90s emo-hardcore act I Hate Myself recorded a song with the same name on their album 10 Songs. A track on Julian Cope's 1991 album "Peggy Suicide" was titled "Not Raving but Drowning" after the poem. The poem was also set to music by singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt on his debut album Little with a spoken introduction from a Stevie Smith recording. Singer and songwriter Tanita Tikaram set the poem to music in her song titled "Not Waving but Drowning" which appeared as a b-side to her single "I Might
Hand-waving is engaging in a verbal hand-wave inappropriately. The spelling of the compound varies (both with regard to this idiom and the everyday human communication gesture of waving). While "hand-waving" is the most common spelling of the unitary present participle and gerund in this usage, and "hand-wave" of the simple present verb, "hand wave" dominates as the noun-phrase form. "Handwaving" and "handwave" may be preferred in some circles, and are well attested. "Hand waving" is mostly used otherwise, e.g. "she had one hand waving, the other on the rail", but is found in some dictionaries in this form. A more arch,