Context

This line is spoken by Kesuke Miyagi, played by Pat Morita, in the film The Karate Kid, directed by John G. Avildsen (1984).

Let us crane kick you back to the '80s, gang: Daniel is just a skinny kid who's being bullied when he asks Mr. Miyagi to teach him how to fight. Mr. Miyagi is reluctant at first, but agrees if, and only if, Daniel will do exactly what he says—no questions asked. Of course, Daniel soon figures out that Mr. Miyagi's idea of learning karate has a whole lot to do with performing boring and repetitive chores—bummer.

Mr. Miyagi instructs Daniel to wash his cars and then put wax on them. He tells him to spread the wax on in a circular motion with his right hand and then rub the wax off with in a circular motion with his left hand. Then he repeats his little mantra—"Wax on, wax off." Daniel isn't amused. (We don't blame him.)

Eventually, Daniel realizes that Mr. Miyagi isn't just trying to get some free labor around the house. He's teaching Daniel the basics of karate through repetitive motions and muscle-memory. When Mr. Miyagi asks Daniel to show him the motion for wax on, wax off, Daniel is shocked to discover that he can now expertly block punches. Whoa—those Cobra Kai jerkfaces better watch out.

Where you've heard it

"Wax on, wax off" is the perfect way to seem chill and meditative. It's also a funny line that's ripe for parodies.

In the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, Michelangelo tells his turtle brothers to watch him as he scrubs a counter while doing his best "wax on, wax off" impression.

Jimmy Fallon has a reoccurring trivia game on The Tonight Show called "Wax On, Wax Off." Answer a question correctly and you get $100. Answer incorrectly and you get some chest hair waxed off—ouch.

A whole bunch of other shows and books use this same training technique. Oliver Queen slaps a bowl of water again and again. The Bride carries buckets of water up stairs. And Arya Stark chases cats.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Dropping a little bit of "wax on, wax off" wisdom will make anyone seem like a chill guy… a chill guy who's just a teeny, tiny bit pretentious, that is.