What does ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’ mean?
To “when the going gets tough, the tough get going” means to adversity brings out the strongest. A 20th-century saying often attributed to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.; not in Brewer's 1898.
Origin
- A 20th-century saying often attributed to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.; not in Brewer's 1898.
How to use it
- Common motivational exhortation.
- Example: Layoffs are hard — but when the going gets tough, the tough get going.
Source:
Last verified: 2026-07-18
- Definitions and origins are drawn from public-domain reference works, primarily Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898), with modern usage notes clearly marked.