Not Chopped Liver (1947); Texas Toast (1960); Ants on a Log (1983)

[Douglas G. Wilson]

>But your recent antedating of "ball of wax" has destroyed a nice
>theory I had about it.

My default hypothesis would be that "ball of wax" in this sense originated
as an 'intentional malapropism' for "bailiwick".

This would be analogous to (and conceivably the model for?) "[mind your
own] beeswax" for "business".

It would seem that "ball o' wax" was available early enough to be picked up
for the malapropism (with the meaning "shoemaker" ... although the meaning
-- as with "beeswax" -- is presumably of no significance). No etymological
legend about balls of wax is required IMHO.

-- Doug Wilson