silver lining

A silver lining is a sign of hope or a positive aspect in an otherwise negative situation.

The phrase is often seen as part of the proverb Every cloud has a silver lining, meaning that there’s hope or something good to be found in every bad situation. In real life, when a cloud looks like its edges are shining and silvery, it’s because the sun is behind it. That’s the metaphor: things are cloudy (bad), but they will get sunny (positive) again—or you can least enjoy the one shiny (positive) part in all the gloominess.

Example: Getting your tonsils out is a bummer, but there’s a silver lining—you get to eat a lot of ice cream afterward.

Poet John Milton wrote about a cloud with a silver lining all the way back in 1637, but the first records of proverbs about clouds with silver linings come from the 1800s.

Since then, the phrase silver lining (and silver linings) has continued to be popularly used to point out the positive aspects in less than ideal circumstances. The silver lining in such a situation can be a general sense of hope, as in I know things are bad now, but you just wait, there will be a silver lining to all of this (meaning things will get better). It is also commonly used to refer to a specific positive part of a negative situation, as in I missed the concert, but there was a silver lining—I met your father that night in the parking lot.

The phrase is often used as a way to encourage someone to be optimistic or “look on the bright side.” If a person is good at doing this, you might describe them as “always being able to see the silver lining.”

What are some other forms related to silver lining?

• silver linings (plural)

What are some synonyms for silver lining?

• hope

What are some words that share a root or word element with silver lining? 

• silver
• lining

What are some words that often get used in discussing silver lining?

• cloud
• optimism
• proverb
• prospect
• encouragement

Silver lining is most often used when trying to encourage people. It is commonly used as part of the expression Every cloud has a silver lining.

One interesting thing about all this is many of us have no idea who we are outside of a job or school. We’ve poured basically all of our identity into those things. But now? There’s a chance to return to self. There’s a chance to rediscover self. I think that’s a silver lining.

— KAYA NOVA (@thekayanova) March 19, 2020

Every cloud has a silver lining. Know that. 😉#breakup #moveon #movingon #quote #silverlining #single pic.twitter.com/VdmrCKxSVb

— Zoosk (@Zoosk) May 7, 2018

McDermott's departure comes with a silver lining for Carolina. Likely means they'll hold on to DBs coach Steve Wilks, with promotion to DC.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 11, 2017

Which of the following words is least likely to be associated with silver lining?

A. hope
B. optimism
C. positivity
D. pessimism