look on the bright side

English

Alternative forms

• look on the bright side of it

Verb

look on the bright side (third-person singular simple present looks on the bright side, present participle looking on the bright side, simple past and past participle looked on the bright side)

1. (idiomatic) To examine a situation, usually unfavorable, from a positive perspective; to be cheerful or optimistic.

   Synonym: look on the positive side

   Coordinate term: look on the dark side

   Look on the bright side. At least having a broken leg means Joyce will have to do the TPS reports until they remember to send your laptop over.

   • 2007 March 6, Julie Rutterford, Life on Mars, Season 2, Episode 3:

     Patrick O'Brien: No hard feelings? I've been falsely accused, had the crap kicked out of me, now I have no job.
     Gene Hunt: Look on the bright side. Still got your health. So, you know, every cloud.

Translations

Translations

• Finnish: katsoa asian valoisaa puolta
• French: voir le bon côté des choses
• Polish: myśleć pozytywnie impf

See also

• see the glass half-full
• count one's blessings
• every cloud has a silver lining

Further reading

• “look on the bright side”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “look on the bright side”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• look on the bright side on Wikipedia.Wikipedia