T-learning # Idiom
Speak Like a Native

Every cloud has a silver lining.

Choose the correct definition a, b or c.

a) Look on the bright side.

Well done ! That’s the right answer.

’The proverbial saying ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ is used to convey the notion that, no matter how bad a situation might seem, there is always some good aspect to it.

This expression is usually said as an encouragement to a person who is overcome by some difficulty and is unable to see any positive way forward.’

French translation

À quelque chose malheur est bon. Après la plus le beau temps.

How NOT to translate : *Chaque nuage a une doublure d’argent.

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Examples in context

Every cloud has a silver lining ? Not if it is run by an internet giant

Like the history of electricity generation, data processing has become centralised, so shouldn’t it be regulated in the same way ?

Ten years ago, the tech commentator Nicholas Carr published The Big Switch : Rewiring the World From Edison to Google. It was the first attempt to explain to a general audience the significance of the computing industry’s move to what became known as “cloud computing”.

The Guardian, 18 Feb. 2018

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‘In the bullion market, every silver lining has a cloud

Events in the gold market have given a whole new twist to the old adage that “no news is good news.”

Hopes for a deal between the US and China to dismantle the trade tariffs imposed on each other’s exports have cheered most observers, given that a serious clash of these economic titans would spell serious trouble for mid-sized and smaller economies.

But in the bullion world, optimistic noises about an end to the trade conflict were greeted by a markdown in the gold price.’

Capital.com, 6 March 2019

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Everyday usage

However, every cloud has a silver lining. In this case, the silver lining was an opportunity to review the functioning of the plant.

I found a new job after losing my last one and I like this one more. You see, every cloud does have a silver lining.

Let’s talk some silver lining potential in this otherwise dark market cloud.

b) It never rains but it pours.

Sorry, wrong answer. Please try again.

c) Money can’t buy happiness.

Sorry, wrong answer. Please try again.


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