every cloud has a silver lining
Meaning: Something good can come out of any bad situation.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The flight was canceled, but every cloud has a silver lining: we got an extra day in Rome.”
Category: Nature
Origin: Sunlight behind a dark cloud makes its edge glow silver. Milton's Comus (1634) speaks of a "sable cloud" turning forth "her silver lining"; the proverb form is 19th-century.
Equivalents in other languages
- Persian: از این ستون به آن ستون فرج است (az in sotun be ān sotun faraj ast) — literally: From this pillar to that pillar there is relief
More idioms — Nature
- still waters run deep — Quiet people often have deep thoughts or strong feelings.
- when it rains, it pours — Bad things tend to happen together.
- Avoir le vent en poupe — To be doing very well; everything is going your way.
- Avoir la tête dans les nuages — To be a daydreamer; out of touch with reality.
- Jeter de l'huile sur le feu — To make a bad situation worse.
- faire la pluie et le beau temps — Having complete control over a situation or someone's fate.
More English idioms
- sleep on it — To delay a decision until the next day to think it over.
- it'll all come out in the wash — Things will work out in the end.
- haste makes waste — Doing things too quickly leads to mistakes.
- no pain, no gain — You must work hard or suffer to achieve something.
- where there's a will, there's a way — Determination will find a way to succeed.
- the early bird catches the worm — Those who act first or get up early get the best chances.