every cloud has a silver lining
It is usually possible for something good to come out of a bad situation. (A silver lining on a cloud is an indication that the sun is behind it.) I know you're upset about not getting the lead in the school play, but just keep in mind that every dark cloud has a silver lining. After all, you'll get lots of experience as the understudy! When I'm going through a hard time, I try to remind myself that every dark cloud has a silver lining. I can usually find something to be thankful for, no matter what's going on in my life. Nobody wants to be laid off, but every cloud has a silver lining. Maybe you'll find a job that you actually like!
silver lining
The potential for something positive or beneficial to result from a negative situation. Often used in the phrase "every cloud has a silver lining." (A silver lining on a cloud is an indication that the sun is behind it.) There could be a silver lining to getting laid off—you might find a job you actually like!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
Every cloud has a silver lining.
Prov. You can derive some benefit from every bad thing that happens to you. (You can also refer to the silver lining of a particular cloud, the benefit you can derive from a particular misfortune.) I'm sorry your business is going badly, but don't despair. Every cloud has a silver lining. When Mary's friends visited her in the hospital, they tried to cheer her up, but Mary never could find the silver lining in the cloud of her illness.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
silver lining
An element of hope or a redeeming quality in an otherwise bad situation, as in The rally had a disappointing turnout, but the silver lining was that those who came pledged a great deal of money . This metaphoric term is a shortening of Every cloud has a silver lining, in turn derived from John Milton's Comus (1634): "A sable cloud turns forth its silver lining on the night."
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
every ˌcloud has a silver ˈlining
(saying) there is always something hopeful about even the most difficult or unhappy situationFarlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
every cloud has a silver lining
The worst situation has some element of hope or some redeeming quality. John Milton appears to have been the originator of this metaphor, in Comus (1634): “A sable cloud turns forth its silver lining on the night.” It was adopted by numerous later writers and so was already a cliché by the time it appeared in the popular World War I song, “Keep the Home Fires Burning” (Ivor Novello and Lena Guilhert, 1915): “There’s a silver lining through the dark clouds shining.” Noël Coward played on it in a song of the 1930s: “Every silver lining has its cloud.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer