Silver lining (idiom)

For other uses, see Silver lining (disambiguation).

Under a cloud (with a silver lining) (1920). A cartoon depicting George Lansbury. Captions: Under a cloud (with a golden lining) Comrade Lansbury. "Thanks to my faithful brolski not a drop has touched me." [Loud crows from "Daily Herald" bird.] Possibly reflecting an allegation of Soviet funding for the Independent Labour Party. Lansbury founded the Daily Herald.

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.

Origin

The origin of the phrase is most likely traced to John Milton's "Comus" (1634) with the lines,

Was I deceiv'd, or did a sable cloud
Turn forth her silver lining on the night?

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