Antimetabole Reverses Words in Phrases Like “When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going”

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hello, this is Bascom Griesen from Redding, California.

Bascom?

Yeah.

Well, welcome.

Welcome to the show. How can we help you today?

Well, I have an interesting question about something that I would call a reverse parable. I don’t know what else to call them. They’re little bits of wisdom that I’ve heard over the years, and I’ve made a small collection of them, and if I hear a neat one, I’ll write it down.

Okay, well, you can always use a bit of wisdom.

Yeah, and what these are, these are two-part sentences, and the first part of the sentence will make a statement, and then in the second part of the statement, that original sentence is reversed and flipped over, and together they make a bit of wisdom.

Okay.

So, for instance, here would be a really good one that we’ve all heard. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Great. Is that Newt Rockne who originally said that, or is that one of those?

Oh, that was Teddy Roosevelt, I believe.

Oh, was it? Okay, very good.

And here would be another one. I’ve always liked this one. Some people think before they speak, and some people speak before they think.

And it’s true. That’s the thing about these. They’re absolutely true, right?

Yeah, and I’ve noticed that sometimes these statements try to reverse the first part, and sometimes they come out slightly different.

So, for instance, here would be one that is sort of modified from that. Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.

Interesting. Very interesting.

Nice.

So the words aren’t the same, but the concept is the same.

Well, Bascom, I can give you a word for that.

What is it?

The word is anti-metaboli.

Anti-metaboli.

Anti-metaboli.

Anti-metaboli, yes.

And, oh, Greek expert, what does that mean?

Well, let me spell it for you first.

Okay.

A-N-T-I-M-E-T-A-B-O-L-E.

Antimetabole. It comes from Greek words that mean turning about in the opposite direction.

Oh, of course.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Antimetabole. It’s a term of rhetoric.

Nice.

And it applies specifically to the kinds of things you were talking about, that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Or as Mae West said, it’s not the men in your life that counts, it’s the life in your men.

That’s a great one.

Great one.

And there is another word for those kinds of things that you mentioned afterward that have a similar structure but not necessarily the same words. That’s called chiasmus.

Chiasmus.

Yes.

C-H-I-A-S-M-U-S. Chiasmus from the Greek letter chi, which is shaped like an X.

I see.

Oh, it would mean, so it’s just a crossing over of ideas.

Yes.

Yes, exactly.

Very good.

Exactly.

But that one’s a little bit different.

And it’s a mirrored grammatical structure, not necessarily the mirror images of the words.

They’re very effective because they allow you to soak in the concept and the wisdom.

Exactly.

When they’re embedded in a speech, I’ve noticed that it really makes you think about what’s been said.

You mean like John F. Kennedy?

Right.

Ask not what you can do for your country?

No, wait.

Yeah, that’s another good one. Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.

And you said it just right, Bascom.

These have the potential, if you think about them long enough, you begin to unravel and unwrap all of these different kind of complexities that goes beyond the rhetorical device, right?

Exactly.

There’s a lot to be understood there.

If only you think about them with sufficient attention.

And if you want to see a whole book of these, there’s one called Never Let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You.

Good.

Yeah, so Google that one.

Fantastic.

Thank you so much for calling.

Okay, have a great afternoon.

Bye-bye.

Okay, thanks for the wisdom.

Bye.

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