no rose without a thorn

no rose without a thorn

There is rarely a good or positive thing, event, or circumstance that is not accompanied by something negative or unpleasant (i.e., just as a rose, which is beautiful, has harmful thorns). A: "I can't believe the amount of taxes I have to pay on my lottery winnings!" B: "No rose without a thorn, eh?"

See also: no, rose, thorn, without

(there is) no rose without a thorn

every apparently desirable situation has its share of trouble or difficulty.

This expression has been proverbial since the mid 15th century. The earliest recorded instance is in a work by John Lydgate ( 1430–40 ): ‘There is no rose…in garden, but there be sum thorne’.

See also: no, rose, thorn, without