"In rhetoric, chiasmus (from the Greek: χιάζω, chiázō, "to shape like the letter Χ") is the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point; that is, the clauses display inverted parallelism. Chiasmus was particularly popular both in Greek and in Latin literature, where it was used to articulate balance or order within a text. As a popular example, many long and complex chiasmi have been found in Shakespeare and the Greek and Hebrew texts of the Bible.[1][2] It is also found throughout the Book of Mormon.[3] - Wikepedia
Wikipeda gives as an examle: "He blindly led and we blindly followed."
Another excellent example is this, from the Rockefeller Foundation at Davos: "We must avoid the unmanageable and manage the unavoidable."
You might try coining a chiasmus or two your own, if you are ever in a pinch for content while facing an imminent deadline. It will make you sound wise, balanced, and literate at little expense of logic or thought. Mostly people will have no idea what you are saying, and this a good thing when, as it happens, you are saying almost nothing. "Look who is talking," you might say, and you would be right. Even a good chiasmus will not cover my nakedness. And now I have probably blown my chance for that Rockefeller Peace and Justice grant.
