The English idiom “every cloud has a silver lining,” creates a beautiful image in our minds and has an equally positive message behind it.
Meaning
The expression is generally given as advice to someone who is going through a difficult time in order to remind them to be optimistic. It suggests that although things may be tough at this exact moment in time, there are better days to come!
Etymology
The phrase was first used in 1634 by John Milton in his poem Comus: A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle, where he wrote;
“To keep my life and honour unassailed. Was I deceived, or did a sable cloud
Turn forth her silver lining on the night?”
From this time on both “clouds” and “silver linings” featured more and more in literature until in 1840 it appeared for the first time in the proverbial form which reflects its current usage. This can be found in a review written by a Mrs S. Hall in The Dublin Magazine, Volume 1, where she writes “As Katty Macane has it, “there’s a silver lining to every cloud that sails about the heavens if we could only see it.” The proverbial use of this expression is thus dated back to the Victorian era and has been used regularly ever since.
Example
An example of this expression can be found in an article in the Guardian newspaper from June 2010 which focuses on life whilst on the waiting list for a heart transplant. It writes, “The virus probably won’t go away until I stop taking the immunosuppressant drugs. I can’t stop taking these until I start dialysis. So every cloud has a silver lining.”
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Should I be pleased to be described as “the laughing stock?”
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The English idiom “curiosity killed the cat” is not as dark as it sounds and does not in fact involve the harming of any animals! The term is a fairly old-fashioned way of warning people about the way in which they behave.
Meaning
The proverb is used when someone is being overly nosy and prying into the business of other people. It suggests that being overly curious and interested in the affairs of other people can be dangerous.
Etymology
This expression has evolved over time and in fact when it was first coined in 1598 by the English playwright Ben Jonson it said,“care killed the cat” meaning that being overly sorrowful was dangerous. William Shakespeare who had seen Jonson’s play then coined his expression in 1599 in his play Much Ado About Nothing, where he wrote “What, courage man! What though care killed a cat, thou hast mettle enough in thee to kill care.” This expression, however, did not stick and the term changed over time to the way we know it today. It is not known exactly why this is but it is certain that the current expression derived from Jonson’s expression. The first recorded usage of the proverb in it’s current form can be found in James Allan Mair’s 1873 A handbook of proverbs: English, Scottish, Irish, American, Shakesperean, and scriptural; and family mottoes in which he cites it as a proverb with Irish origins though the reasons for this are unclear.
Example
An example of this expression in use can be found in the novel The Resistance by Gemma Malley who writes, “More question. You know that curiosity killed the cat?”
Perhaps the definitive origins of this expression will never be found and we should stop investigating as this could be deemed as a case of “curiosity killed the cat.”
Ne ratez pas
Should I be pleased to be described as “the laughing stock?”
publié le 4 June
Have you ever been described as "the laughing stock?" Do you want to know if this is a compliment or not? If this is the case then keep reading and th...
What does it mean if something happens at “the eleventh hour?”
publié le 2 June
The English idiom, "at the eleventh hour" is often used in conversation. It can seem rather confusing if you do not have prior knowledge of what it me...
This English expression is very commonly used, particularly in general day-to-day conversation. If you want to find out when and how to use it, read t...
The expression “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” is a fairly old-fashioned English expression which does not relate to animals but is used as a warning relating to making assumptions that something will happen.
Meaning
The expression is used to warn someone about pinning all their hopes on something and assuming that something will work out and therefore focussing all their effort on that one thing. The warning given is that if you do this you risk losing everything!
Etymology
The earliest recorded English usage of this expression can be found in the Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs in 1710 which reads “Don’t venture all your eggs in one basket.” There is, however, an earlier usage of an expression with the same meaning as this which does not exist in English nowadays but may have been used as the inspiration for the expression. It reads “He is a fool which will adventure all his goods in one ship”, and can be dated to 1617.
The premise of the idiom comes from the very practical idea that if a farmer collects all his eggs in one basket and he drops the basket on his way to store the eggs then he has essentially lost everything he worked for and will have to start again from scratch whereas if he had split the eggs between two baskets the consequences would have been limited.
Example
An example of the usage of this idiom can be found in Miguel Cervantes’ novel of 1615, “Don Quixote” which reads “it is the part of a wise man to keep himself today for tomorrow, and not venture all his eggs in one basket.”
Ne ratez pas
Should I be pleased to be described as “the laughing stock?”
publié le 4 June
Have you ever been described as "the laughing stock?" Do you want to know if this is a compliment or not? If this is the case then keep reading and th...
What does it mean if something happens at “the eleventh hour?”
publié le 2 June
The English idiom, "at the eleventh hour" is often used in conversation. It can seem rather confusing if you do not have prior knowledge of what it me...
This English expression is very commonly used, particularly in general day-to-day conversation. If you want to find out when and how to use it, read t...
The English idiom “to hit the nail on the head” is commonly used not in the construction sector as you may imagine but in fact, to convey the preciseness or success of something.
Meaning
The expression is used in order to express that something which has been said is exactly right or that something which has been done has been done very precisely and without any mistakes. It can be used to suggest that something has been done very carefully and precisely but can also be used in the case that someone doing something correctly has been a fluke.
Etymology
The exact origin of this expression is unknown although it can be dated back as far as the year 1438 in The Book of Margery Kempe which reads, “If I hear any more these matters repeated, I shall so smite the nail on the head that it shall shame all her supporters”. In this citation the phrase seems to relate to speaking severely or sternly. The idiom derives from carpentry and relates to the fact that if the nail is missed then the hammer will hit the wood and thus it will be damaged, so it needs to be hit perfectly square on in order to be successful. It is from this idea that to find a perfect solution is “to hit the nail on the head”.
Example
An example from the BBC news website relating to a comment made by Nicolas Sarkozy regarding the Czech Prime Minister demonstrates the use of this idiom in a journalistic context; “Nicolas Sarkozy hit the nail on the head with his assertion.”
Next time someone asks you the meaning of this expression you can now hit the nail on the head and provide the perfect explanation!
Ne ratez pas
Should I be pleased to be described as “the laughing stock?”
publié le 4 June
Have you ever been described as "the laughing stock?" Do you want to know if this is a compliment or not? If this is the case then keep reading and th...
What does it mean if something happens at “the eleventh hour?”
publié le 2 June
The English idiom, "at the eleventh hour" is often used in conversation. It can seem rather confusing if you do not have prior knowledge of what it me...
This English expression is very commonly used, particularly in general day-to-day conversation. If you want to find out when and how to use it, read t...
