Silver lining (idiom)
A silver lining is a metaphor for optimism in the common English-language, which means a negative occurrence may have a positive aspect to it.[2]
Origin
John Milton coined the phrase 'silver lining' in his poem Comus: A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634:
I see ye visibly, and now believe
That he, the Supreme Good, to whom all things ill
Are but as slavish officers of vengeance,
Would send a glistering guardian, if need were
To keep my life and honor unassailed.
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.[3]
It refers to the silvery, shining edges of a cloud backlit by the sun or the moon.
See also
- idiom
- Every cloud has a silver lining
- Silver Lining (disambiguation)
- Is the glass half empty or half full?
- The dictionary definition of silver lining at Wiktionary
References