no rose without a thorn

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(there's) no rose without a thorn

There is rarely a good or positive person, thing, or situation that does not have some negative or unpleasant aspect (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?" Our teacher is usually very supportive and patient, but if you mess around in her class, she'll tear you a new one. There's no rose without thorns, I guess.

(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’.