meaning of the phrase when the going gets tough the tough get going
When the going gets tough, the tough get going The phrase is a play on words involving idiomatic (Proverb) and distinct meanings of "go" and "tough." In context, "the going" means "the situation," "gets tough" means "becomes difficult," "the tough" means "people who are strong or enduring," and "get going" means "become fully engaged." Taken together, the meaning of the phrase is "When the situation becomes difficult, the strong will become engaged."
The road to hell is paved with good intentions The saying is thought to have originated with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux who wrote (c. 1150), "L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontés ou désirs" (hell is full of good wishes or desires).[2] An earlier saying occurs in Virgil's Aeneid: "facilis descensus Averno (the descent to hell is easy)".[3]