pendulum swing
Back and forth
A pendulum swing is a shift from one extreme to another, like the arc of a weighted rod.
The phrase usually describes dramatic reversals in opinion, policy, or cultural mood: The pendulum swing toward conservatism followed years of progressive reform.
It implies that extremes invite counter-movements—what swings far one way will eventually swing back.
- oscillationRepeated back-and-forth movement
- arcCurved line segment
- rhythmPatterned stress and silence
- momentumProduct of mass, velocity
- tickParasitic eight-legged pest
tock · ticking clock · time keeper · grandfather clock · hypnosis · hypnotic trance · sway · back and forth · metronome · Newton's cradle · weight · bob · gravity · motion · pivot · chain · tempo · cycle
- Pendulums
- motionmotion, movement, velocity, speed, momentum
- bowlingbowling pin, bowling ball, bowling pins, bowling balls, bowling lane
- repetitive motionsswaying, rocking, bobbing, bouncing, tapping
- swing mechanicsbackswing, downswing, follow through, coiling, uncoiling
- swing rides
pendulum swingstraight line
Undeviated continuous path
forward motion · constant velocity · direct path · straight shot · beeline
pendulum swingstasis
State of inactivity
equilibrium · stability · steady state · constancy · immobility
pendulum swingone-way street
Route forbidding reverse travel
point of no return · irreversible change · paradigm shift · progressive movement · forward march
pendulum, swing, pend, pendant, pending, pendulous, depend, dependent, dependence