when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro

English

Etymology

From Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971) by Hunter S. Thompson.

Phrase

when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro

1. In times of change or upheaval, anyone can form a legitimate business from their own personal vision, however different it may be.
   • 2010, Hunter S Thompson, Hey Rube, →ISBN:

     When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. That is my personal motto, and it has made me what I am today.

   • 2012, Nick Mamatas, The Damned Highway, →ISBN:

     When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro, and I have certainly been both in my life. Ask anyone. They know. They remember. They'll tell you that I was both weird and a pro.

   • [2013, Chrisann Brennan, The Bite in the Apple: A Memoir of My Life with Steve Jobs, →ISBN:

     Hunter Thompson famously coined the rallying cry, “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!” saying anyone was qualified to make a difference if they had the heart, mind, and will to do so. Many did.]

   • 2015, Douglas Lain, In the Shadow of the Towers: Speculative Fiction in a Post-9/11 World, →ISBN:

     "The chair is not that weird," Van muttered. "It's the whole world that's weird now. When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” He picked up his wireless laptop.

See also

• when the going gets tough, the tough get going