chiasmus
noun

- a reversal of the order of words in the second of two parallel phrases

Collins Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

The term "chiasmus" comes from the Greek word "χιάζω" (chiázō), which means "to mark with a 'χ' (chi)." The letter "χ" (chi) in Greek looks like an "X", and a chiasmus is a rhetorical device where two ideas are mirrored or crisscrossed, similar to the shape of the letter "X". So, the etymology of "chiasmus" reflects this crisscross or mirrored structure of ideas.

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CHIASMUS CRISSCROSSES CONCEPTS

- "The first shall be last, and the last shall be first." (Matthew 19:30)

- "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." (Benjamin Franklin)

- “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." (John F. Kennedy)

- "Never let a fool kiss you, or a kiss fool you." (Anonymous)

- "It's not the men in my life that count, it's the life in my men." (Mae West)

- You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy." (The Country Gentleman)

- "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." (Francis William Leahy)

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“A CHIASMUS is not just a figure of speech; it's a speech that figures itself out."

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