ProverbChallenge
English origin1546
English origin1546It's an ill wind that blows nobody good.
Meaning: Even harmful circumstances benefit someone, so misfortune rarely affects everyone equally.
Origin: John Heywood's 1546 collection has "An ill wind that bloweth no man to good," and Shakespeare uses it in Henry IV, Part 2: "the ill wind which blows no man to good." The image is from sailing: a wind that wrecks one ship may carry another home. Almost any misfortune benefits somebody.
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