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silver lining

noun

Etymology

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

Definitions

  1. A favorable aspect or prospect of a mostly unfavorable event or situation.

    • 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.
    • 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.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for silver lining. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA