# What does ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ mean?

To “every cloud has a silver lining” means to every hardship carries some hope or benefit. The image is popularly traced to Milton's Comus (1634); Brewer's records it as a proverb of consolation.

## What it means

- The image is popularly traced to Milton's Comus (1634); Brewer's records it as a proverb of consolation.

## Action steps

1. Standard reassurance in disappointment.
2. Example: You lost the job, but every cloud has a silver lining.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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