Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A hopeful or comforting prospect in the midst of difficulty.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun figuratively A good aspect of a mostly bad event.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a consoling aspect of a difficult situation

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From the proverb “Every cloud has a silver lining”.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

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

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Examples

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Comments

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  • A phrase that parents use to remind themselves that one day their child will stop asking for them to buy My Little Pony dolls.

    August 9, 2008

  • HU: a jo a rosszban, minden rosszban van valami jo

    October 23, 2012