Masters of Chiasmus - Dennis Ridley: drmardy.com

I Never Metaphor I Didn't Like:
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Dennis Ridley

"Dennis Ridley?" you may be thinking, "Who the heck is he? And what is he doing among such luminaries as Shakespeare, Shaw and Wilde?" Well, let me tell you.

Dennis Ridley is currently on the administrative faculty of the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia (when we first met, he was Director of Institutional Research and Planning at Virginia Wesleyan). Dennis first came to my attention in 1999 when he submitted two entries in the October Chiastic Quotes Competition:

"We have civil engineers;
too bad we can't engineer civility."

"A good offense requires pushing the envelope.
A good defense requires enveloping the push."

The five competition judges (one of which is me) responded favorably. The first quote won Third Prize in the competition, and the second received an Honorable Mention.

The very next month I was presented with an unexpected problem. Dennis submitted so many splendid entries that it looked as if he might run away with the competition. I had to make a decision. Here's what I said in the November announcement:

"Last month, one person sent in so many superb entries that, if we had included all of his entries in the list of finalists, he would have dominated the competition. So, to honor him, and to be fair to the many other people who submitted great quotes, I have created a special 'Master of Chiasmus' Award, to be given occasionally to a person who sends in a large number of fabulous quotes. The winner of the first 'Master of Chiasmus' award is Dennis Ridley of Virginia, Beach, Virginia."

We honored eight Ridley quotes that month:

"Do you think, if we licensed poets,
that they would still take poetic license?"

"Maybe a great idea blew your socks off;
a great song can sock your blues off."

"Win friends, by all means;
but also take care to befriend winners."

"The obsessive-compulsive Casanova
writes a love poem:
'How shall I count thee? Let me love the ways.'"

"When you're messing with a flirt,
you're flirting with a mess."

"If you say no to a good proposal,
you will live to regret it.
If you say yes to a bad proposal,
you will regret to be living with it."

"It's easier facing loss,
if you care little about losing face."

"'If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.'
But if horses had wishes, riders would beg."

This last one is especially impressive. It's not only a neat example of "chiastic piggybacking," it's also a perfect example of double chiasmus (note the two separate reversals). The Humble-But-Lovable Dennis had this to say about it: "Of all my chiastic creations, this reversal of an old saying is my favorite. Sooner or later someone was destined to take credit for this one. I was lucky to be the first to tumble upon it."

To be honest, when I created the original award for Dennis, I didn't think he would continue to create chiastic gems. But create them he did, month after month. I continued to be impressed, and sometimes amazed, at his creations. Finally, I decided that he deserved to be honored in an even more special way. Hence these pages, a tribute to his chiastic virtuosity.

The Talented Mr. Ridley
Ridley Presidential Tour