When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
當前進之路遭遇困挫，勇者仍會奮力向前
今天 Ya Hui Chang 老師在 FB 上發文，提到商周執行長王文靜〈When the going gets tough ⋯〉 一文：
捷安特去年退休的巨大機械執行長羅祥安，… 很喜歡一句西方諺語：When the going gets tough, the tough get going. 越艱困處境，越能歷練出強者。一如寒冬梅花，不經一番寒徹骨，哪得梅花撲鼻香。The Going 指的是處境，兩度運用 tough 耐人尋味，中文還譯不出它的意境。
在 When the going gets tough, the tough get going. (前進之路遭遇困難，勇者仍會奮力向前；即「愈挫愈奮」) 一句中，going 是當名詞。Merriam-Webster Dictionary 中有一則解釋：going: advance toward an objective 例句就是 when the going gets tough…
為什麼這句格言下半句是 the tough get going，而不是 *the tough gets going? 因為這裡的 the tough 和 How did the Chinese get so rich? 一句中的 the Chinese 一樣，是指 the tough people, the Chinese people，是複數的概念。網路上雖也出現一些 *the tough gets going 的例子，但不足為訓。權威的 The Phrase Finder 還特別提醒讀者：the tough是複數 (The saying goes “. . . the tough GET going”: "tough" functions as a plural noun here.)
WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING - "When the situation gets critical, those who aren't weak-willed work harder and never give up. The proverb is attributed to Joseph P. Kennedy (1888-1969), the father of (U.S.) President John F. Kennedy. It was recently popularized by Billy Ocean's song 'When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going.'
《劍橋英漢詞典》對這句諺語的解釋與翻譯也不錯：said to emphasize that when conditions become difficult, strong people take action 形勢越困難，勇者志越堅。
類似得講法還有: When the times are tough, the tough see opportunities. 時機越艱難，不畏艱難者越有機會。(Jerome Su, April 11, 2019, Revised, April 12, 19)