Meaning & Analysis
What a person or object lacks in height ('up and down'), it makes up for in breadth or width ('to and fro' or 'roundabout'). It was often used to describe someone short but stocky.
Insights
Principle of Compensation
The proverb signifies that a weakness or lack in one area is often compensated for by a strength in another. It speaks to a natural balancing of traits, abilities, or qualities, suggesting that overall value is maintained through a different form.
Alternative Paths to a Goal
If a direct or conventional method ('up and down') is ineffective or insufficient, an indirect, alternative, or more circuitous approach ('to and fro') can achieve the same goal. It champions flexibility and resourcefulness.
Conservation of Value
The proverb implies that value is not lost, but merely redistributed. A loss or deficit in one aspect of life or business can be recouped or balanced by a gain in another, reflecting a principle of equilibrium.
Psychology of Compensation
The proverb reflects a psychological principle of compensation, where deficiencies in one area are balanced by strengths in another. It suggests a natural equilibrium in abilities and attributes, promoting an appreciation for diverse forms of value beyond a single metric.
Practical Economics
The 1666 quotation by Torriano frames the concept in practical, almost economic terms: 'What one loses... to get it again'. This highlights a timeless business principle of diversifying efforts and finding alternative avenues for success when one path proves unfruitful.
Historical Social Observation
The application of the proverb to physical stature, as noted in 1721, provides a window into social commentary of the era, where direct, observational humor about physical traits was common. It grounds the abstract idea of balance in a tangible, human form.
Rhetorical Devices
Antithesis and Parallelism
The proverb is built on the balanced contrast between two pairs of directional adverbs ('up and down' vs. 'to and fro'), creating a memorable rhythmic and parallel structure.
Spatial Metaphor
It uses the tangible, physical dimensions of height and width as a metaphor for abstract qualities like skills, opportunities, or characteristics, making the concept of compensation easy to grasp.
Colloquial Diction
The use of simple, everyday directional phrases gives the proverb a folksy and accessible tone, rooting its wisdom in common, non-academic language.
Transcription
Quotations
To recover ones self from any damage one way or another; the English say .. What one loses in the Up and Down, to get it again in the Too and Fro.
What she wants in up and down she hath in round about.
*Spoken to them who are low of Stature, but broad and squat.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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