Learning English

Every cloud has a silver lining

Helen in Ukraine says: I find it difficult to understand idioms or proverbs. For example, every cloud has a silver lining. Could you please explain to me what this means?

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Summary

Idioms can be difficult to understand because the combination of their words does not always give the meaning of the idiom itself. Some are easier - e.g. once in a blue moon. A blue moon is a rare occurance, so once in a blue moon means rarely.

Context helps
Use context wherever you can to help. Charlotte got her dream job, so she was on cloud nine all day. Getting a dream job usually makes people very happy, so on cloud nice means very happy.

Every cloud
A sky full of dark clouds is a metaphor for coming trouble. The Sun, being light and warm, represents something good. Imagine a sky full of dark clouds with the sun shining behind them. This gives the clouds a silvery edge. In a bad situation (the dark sky) there is still some good to be found (the sun). Every cloud ha a silver lining means something good exists even in a bad situation

Examples of other cloud idioms
"John is such a dreamer. He’s always got his head in the clouds."
If your head is in the clouds, you are not looking at the ground. Here, the ground represents what is real, whereas the clouds are a kind of dream land. Someone with their head in the clouds is too focussed on their own ideas or dreams to realise what is happening in reality.

"Business is going well at the moment, but the effect of Brexit is a cloud on the horizon." 
A cloud on the horizon could be a sign of a coming storm - a negative metaphor. So a cloud on the horizon means a problem that has been seen but is yet to come.

"James has been under a cloud for the last few weeks because everybody found out that he’s been cheating on his wife."
Again, dark clouds representing something negative here, James has been caught doing something wrong and everyone knows it. Therefore to be under a cloud means suspected of or disgraced for doing something bad.

To do

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End of Session 5

Well, that's it for this unit! Join us again in Unit 21 for more Exam Skills, News Review, Pronunciation in the News, The Teachers' Room and Learners' Questions!