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Types of Chiasmus: Chiastic Shorthand

Vice Versa

In his 1976 book, Ins and Outs of Institutional Investing, the legendary American investor, Dean Le Baron writes:

What Le Baron means—without actually saying it—is pretty straightforward: "And that which seems wrong to do is often very right."

Here, vice versa is not merely a shorthand way of indicating a chiastic reversal, it's also a more effective way of expressing the thought. Instead of boring, or worse, annoying readers by laying out all the words of an obvious chiasm, Le Baron uses vice versa to get people to finish the thought on their own. Shorthand methods of expressing chiasmus have this additional benefit of involving people in a dialogue with the writer, since they must complete the thought themselves.

Another wonderful example comes from the English orchestra conductor and impresario, Thomas Beecham, who was well-known for his willingness to say exactly what he thought, even if it offended people. When a reporter once asked him why he chose only very large women to sing the soprano roles in his opera productions, he replied:

Only two words were required to communicate Beecham's message: "And sopranos who eat like birds, sing like horses."

Vice Versa is such an integral part of regular discourse that people rarely give thought to the fact that it's composed of Latin words that go back two thousand years to the imperial days of Rome. From then until now, it's meant pretty much what the Oxford English Dictionary says it means: "A reversal or transposition of the main items in the statement just made."

When traced to its Latin roots, vice versa literally means, "the regular position turned around or reversed." The expression has been used in English for nearly four centuries, making its first appearance in an English language publication in the early 1600's. While its meaning has always been the same, its pronunciation has changed over the centuries. Early on it was pronounced VY-see VUR-suh. Over time, it evolved to VY-suh VER-suh, which became the "correct" pronunciation until well into this century. As timed passed, the pronunciation drifted to VICE VER-suh, which is the most common version today, even though it's still listed in most dictionaries as second in acceptability after VY-suh VER-suh (which some purists still regard as the only acceptable pronuciation).

Some vice versa quotes are ancient, like this 4th century B.C. observation from Aristotle:

Some have become part and parcel of the popular culture, like this from the former GM chairman and Eisenhower's Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson:

Vice Versa quotes show up in every area of discourse, as the following three quotes demonstrate:

In general, vice versa quotes are fairly self-evident, as in the three foregoing quotes. Some, however, require a bit of thought and reflection, like this observation from the American advertising executive, Alan H. Meyer:

Calling it one of his "laws of advertising," Meyer offered this thought in response to marketing types who believed that the name drives the product, and not vice versa. I think Meyer is right. The Edsel, even if called a Mustang, would've still been an Edsel.

Some are offered facetiously, like the advice from Stephen Potter—of "one-upmanship" fame—on what to say after sampling a glass of wine:

Sometimes the humorous effect is unintended, but just as funny, as in this head-scratching observation from the legendary baseball manager, Casey Stengel:

Some are examples of very clever wordplay, like the immortal response Dorothy Parker gave to a friend who asked her why she hadn't attended a Broadway play featuring a character modeled after her:

And sometimes it's hard to know exactly what they mean, as in this enigmatic assertion from the late rock star, Frank Zappa:

While I think I understand the first part of Zappa's remark, I can honestly say that I have no idea what oral intercourse has done for pop music. But who am I to question a rock legend?

Whether straightforward, humorous, puzzling, profane, or downright mysterious, vice versa is the most common shorthand way of expressing chiasmus. But it's not the only method.

The Other Way Around

The second major method of chiastic shorthand happens when we complete a thought by using the words.

In 1970, former New York Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton wrote Ball Four, an entertaining portrayal of his life in the big leagues. The book contained numerous examples of Bouton's candor, wit, and overall ability to tell a good story. It also contained some well-crafted, and downright memorable, lines:

Of all the alternatives at his disposal, Bouton couldn't have found a better way of communicating that it was baseball that had him in its grip all along.

Another example comes from a birthday card I received a few years ago from my daughter and her husband.

The card reflected an interesting social change that occurred in my lifetime, boys beginning to wear ponytails and girls getting crewcuts. It was a perfect card to give an old-timer like me, made especially appropriate because of my interest in chiasmus.

This example comes from the English lawyer and language expert, Sir Ernest Gowers:

That is, the illusion that the public are the servants of public officials.

In the 1994 Mel Brooks' spoof, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Robin escapes from a Jerusalem prison and plans to return to England. A fellow escapee named Asneeze (Isaac Hayes, in a cameo role) asks Robin to look after his son—named Achoo—who is an exchange student in London. Always trying to sneak risqué elements into his pictures, Brooks has Asneeze say to Robin:

The line goes by so quickly, it's easy to miss the meaning—that Achoo has been cockstrong and headsure, two characteristics (besides being headstrong and cocksure) that are certain to cause problems for an exchange student in a foreign land. One of the problems when a shorthand chiastic expression like this is used in a movie or play is that it takes a moment for people to "compute" the inversion in their minds. If the computation is not made quickly, a clever line can go straight over people's heads.

Some writers simply say "the other way" instead of "the other way around," but it means the same thing. In his Lectures on Architecture and Painting (1853), English critic John Ruskin writes:

Ruskin's point is so clear that it needs no explanation. But some "other way around" expressions require some thought for the meaning to become clear. In his Memoirs, American writer Sherwood Anderson writes:

Anderson's point, of course, is that sons are as likely to have unrealistic and irrational expectations of their fathers as fathers have of their sons.

In his 1830 classic, The Physiology of Marriage, Honoré de Balzac writes:

What Balzac means is that, in a marriage, a husband puts his needs first and his wife's second, the exact reverse of the lover, who is so smitten he gives the object of his affection the higher priority.

In a 1996 Boston Globe article, sportswriter Bob Ryan wrote an article about college basketball star Stephon Marbury, who had just been selected very high in the NBA draft. The article contained this line:

While making specific reference to Marbury, Ryan was thinking about almost all recent NBA draftees, who've spent the whole of their young lives playing basketball, and have never done any real work. Ryan wrote, "This is a whole new generation of young athletes, these modern basketball players. This is a generation that has never worked. Earning, they know not. Taking, they know very well."

To make sure people know exactly what they mean, many writers use an expression like "the other way around" and then complete the thought explicitly. American writer Eric Hoffer does exactly this in his 1967 book, The Temper of Our Times:

So does Philip Howard in his 1995 book, The Death of Common Sense: How Law is Suffocating America. Discussing how well-intended laws can backfire, he writes:

And, finally, so does Arthur Burns, presidential advisor and former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, in a 1970 commencement speech he delivered at Hebrew University:

Whether or not the final thought is completed, "the other way around" is a common way of indicating a chiastic reversal.

Chiastic shorthand has two major benefits. First, it makes it unnecessary for people to wade through an obvious chiastic thought. And second, since listeners or readers must complete the thought on their own, they're automatically thrust into a dialogue with the author of the sentiment.