silver lining

An element of hope or a redeeming quality in an otherwise bad situation, as in The rally had a disappointing turnout, but the silver lining was that those who came pledged a great deal of money . This metaphoric term is a shortening of Every cloud has a silver lining, in turn derived from John Milton's Comus (1634): "A sable cloud turns forth its silver lining on the night."

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Louis	['lu:is]
Atsuko	ah-tsoo-ko	Japanese
Sal	[sæl]
Tiina	TEE:-nah	Finnish
Dubaku	-	Western African, Akan
Zaharina	-	Bulgarian, Macedonian