The retro-[1,4]-Brook rearrangement (also referred to as the West or silyl-Wittig rearrangement) has been employed with acetophenone silyl enol ethers to allow regiospecific migration of the silicon from oxygen to the ortho position of the aromatic ring. The enolate that results from this process may be reacted directly with various electrophiles. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.