Idiom
Every cloud has a silver lining
Every cloud has a silver lining means that even a bad or difficult situation usually has some good side to it.
How people use it
People say it to comfort someone or to look on the bright side, often after a disappointment (the flight was canceled, but every cloud has a silver lining: we got an extra day at the beach). The good part itself is called the silver lining (the silver lining is that we saved money). It is warm and hopeful, but it can sound tired, or even annoying, if said too soon after real bad news.
Also said: the silver lining, look for the silver lining.
Examples
- Losing the job was hard, but every cloud has a silver lining, and Ben finally started his own business.
- The game was rained out, but every cloud has a silver lining: we watched movies all afternoon.
- Priya missed her train, but the silver lining was meeting an old friend on the platform.
Where it comes from
The image goes back to John Milton's poem Comus (1634), in which a dark cloud seems to 'turn forth her silver lining on the night.' A cloud with the sun or moon behind it often glows silver at the edges. In the 1800s, writers began to speak of a 'silver lining' as the hopeful side of trouble, and the full proverb became common later that century.
Check yourself
1. What does every cloud has a silver lining mean?
Answer: Bad situations usually have some good side. The proverb says something good can come out of almost any bad situation.
2. Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Answer: A broken ankle kept her home for weeks, but every cloud has a silver lining: she finished her novel.. The idiom needs a bad situation with a good side. Winning a vacation is already good, and the storm sentence is literal.
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