Chiasmus

Chiasmus is probably my favorite rhetorical device. JFK’s “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” is a well-known one. I also like “Never let a fool kiss you, or a kiss fool you,” which is also the title of Mardy Grothe’s book on chiasmus.

A chiasmus is “a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases.” Check out Grothe’s website for more types and examples.

The other day Sam and I were driving our usual route to the grocery store and as we crested a hill, the city and the Golden Gate bridge popped into the windshield with unusual clarity. Often it’s too foggy to see the city, and so Sam and I have a running joke about how “the fog ate the city.” I’ll say, “Sammy, what happened to the city?!” She will reply, “The fog ate the city! Chomp!”

On this crisp day I said instead, “Wow, look how clear the city is.” To which Sam replied, “The city ate the fog!”

“Oh it did?”

“Yeah! Just like the fog ate the city.”

“Wow. You just made a chiasmus!”

“Sammy made a casmus!”

That was cool.

Merry Chiasmus, then, dear readers.