Every cloud has a silver lining
Meaning: There is always something positive in every difficult situation.
Origin: The image comes from John Milton's masque Comus (1634). A young lady, lost at night in a wild wood, sees a dark cloud "turn forth her silver lining on the night" and takes heart. By the 19th century the proverb had become a stock phrase of consolation, and "silver lining" now stands on its own for the hopeful side of bad news.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Après la pluie, le beau temps (literally: After rain, good weather)
- Spanish: No hay mal que por bien no venga (literally: There is no evil that doesn't come for good)
- Japanese: 雨降って地固まる (Ame futte ji katamaru) (literally: After rain, the ground hardens)
- German: Kein Unglück so groß, es hat ein Glück im Schoß (literally: No misfortune so great that it does not carry fortune in its lap)
More proverbs about Wisdom
- Look before you leap — Think carefully before acting.
- A stitch in time saves nine — Fixing a problem early prevents bigger issues later.
- Don't count your chickens before they hatch — Don't assume success before it happens.
- Knowledge is power — Education and learning give you strength and advantage.
- Time heals all wounds — Emotional pain fades with the passage of time.
- Where there is smoke, there is fire — Rumors or signs usually indicate some truth.
From our tongue twisters
- Parangaricutirimícuaro — Not a sentence but a single word — a legendary 22-letter pronunciation challenge from a r…
- Dans ta tente ta tante t'attend. — A gentle 'ta / ten / tan / t'' warm-up that sounds faster than it reads.
- Seize chaises sèches sur seize arches sèches. — A relentless collision of 'sei', 'sèch', and 's' — the tongue can't find traction.