silver lining

English

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Silver lining (idiom)

Etymology

Originating in John Milton's poem “Comus”;^[1] see 1634 quotation. The proverb every cloud has a silver lining is an allusion to the relevant passage.

Noun

silver lining (plural silver linings)

(figurative) A favorable aspect or prospect of a mostly unfavorable event or situation.
- 1634, John Milton, Comus:
  Was I deceived, or did a sable cloud / Turn forth her silver lining on the night? / I did not err: there does a sable cloud / Turn forth her silver lining on the night, / And casts a gleam over this tufted grove.
- 2025 February 19, Chris Howe, “Euston: a work in progress”, in RAIL, number 1029, page 45:
  The only silver lining for businesses and local residents was that there was at least an end in sight, and that the new station, once built, would enhance the area and provide improved east-west access for pedestrians.

Synonyms

(good aspect): bright side

Antonyms

Related terms

Translations

a good aspect of a mostly bad event

Chinese:
Mandarin: please add this translation if you can
Cornish: amal arghans m
Czech: světlá stránka f, paprsek naděje m, světlo na konci tunelu (cs) n
Finnish: hopeareunus
Galician: lado bo m
German: Silberstreif (de) m, Silberstreifen (de) m, Lichtblick (de) m, gute Seite f
Hungarian: jó oldala (literally “its good side”)
Italian: risvolto positivo m
Polish: światełko w tunelu n
Portuguese: lado bom
Romanian: no equivalent term in Romanian, but see parte bună, aspect pozitiv
Russian: луч наде́жды m (luč nadéždy), хорошая новость (xorošaja novostʹ), све́тлая сторона́ f (svétlaja storoná)
Spanish: lado positivo m
Swedish: ljuspunkt c, ljusglimt (sv) c
Thai: ฟ้าหลังฝน (fáa lăng fŏn)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Korean: ^{(please verify)} 새옹지마(塞翁之馬) (ko) (sae'ongjima)

References

^ “every cloud has a silver lining” in Stuart Berg Flexner and Doris Flexner, Wise Words and Wives' Tales: The Origins, Meanings, and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings, Olde and New, Avon Books (1993), →ISBN, page 52. Quoted in “Re: Every cloud has a silver lining”, phrases.org.uk.

[1] “every cloud has a silver lining” in Stuart Berg Flexner and Doris Flexner, Wise Words and Wives' Tales: The Origins, Meanings, and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings, Olde and New, Avon Books (1993), →ISBN, page 52. Quoted in “Re: Every cloud has a silver lining”, phrases.org.uk.

[1]