Idiom 78 – Every cloud has a silver lining

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs8/i/2005/347/9/9/Every_cloud_has_one_by_MrRat.jpgWhen my former company filed for bankruptcy (Konkurs anmelden), I was really upset. I loved working there and felt a close personal connection to the company. But I have since found a new job with more responsibility and have learnt a lot of things I would never have in my old position. So in the end, I guess every cloud has a silver lining (Wo Schatten ist, ist auch Licht.)

This is an old expression, coined by John Milton in Comus: A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle, from 1634:

„Was I deceived, or did a sable cloud
Turn forth her silver lining on the night?“

In modern usage, we often shorten the idiom and simply refer to the “silver lining”, the positive aspect of a negative situation.