Today's Word "Chiasmus"
Published in Vocabulary
chiasmus \kI-AEHZ-mehs\ (noun) - A two-part rhetorical structure with a clever inversion of the first part in the second.
"'When the going gets tough, the tough get going' and 'Never negotiate out of fear, but never fear to negotiate," are prime examples of chiasmuses."
From Greek chiasmos "crossing, diagonal arrangement" from chiazein "to mark with a cross" from the Greek letter chi (X). Related to "chiasma" (plural "chiasmata"), as in the optic chiasma, the crossing of the optic nerves in middle of the brain. The adjective is "chiasmic (chiastic, or chiasmal)" which can double as a noun referring to someone who is addicted to chiasmuses. One of the most quoted chiasmuses of the past century is John Kennedy's, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Letter chiasmuses, that only switch one (alphabetical) letter, are also popular: "An experimental psychologist is someone who pulls habits out of rats" or, "Scholars are advised to apply for several grants at the time so as not to put all their begs in one askit."
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