it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good

English

Alternative forms

• it's an ill wind
• it's an ill wind that blows no good
• it's an ill wind that blows no one any good

Etymology

Rewordable as "a wind that blows nobody any good is an ill wind indeed".

Proverb

it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good

1. An action or occurrence must be very bad indeed if it brings no benefit to anyone.

Translations

even a very bad situation must have some good results

• French: à quelque chose malheur est bon (fr)
• Spanish: no hay mal que por bien no venga (es)

References

• “it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.