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For Find Out Friday Week 11- Origin of the Phrase “Silver Lining”

P.T. Barnum, 1869, where he wrote:
"'Every cloud,' says the proverb, 'has a silver lining,' and so I did not despair.”

Some days you just need to catch a break. You can be having a decent day, nothing out of the ordinary has happened, but for some reason you just need a little emotional lift. That was me yesterday. The irony is that as I felt that way I was researching this topic, it was not lost on me. But I didn’t manage to write anything down until today. Scarlet was right, “tomorrow is another day”.

So now that it is officially Find Out Friday I am here with the quickness.
I decided that the phrase “silver lining” is used very often in our daily language but like many of the other topics researched in this series I had no idea why. I don’t think anyone around me could tell me either. The saying is easy enough to understand; you are most likely trying to cheer someone up and thus find their individual silver lining for the situation.

According to Vocabulary.com:

“Use the term silver lining when you want to emphasize the hopeful side of a situation that might seem gloomy on the surface.”

Check.

But why?

They continue:

“The origin of the phrase seems to be John Milton's 1634 poem "Comus," which includes the line, "Was I deceived? or did a sable cloud/Turn forth her silver lining on the night?"

This language is used in a very literal way. When clouds appear very dark and you are watching closely you can sometimes spot a white or silver outline of the cloud. What you are actually seeing is the sun illuminating the cloud creating a silver lining. For every dark cloud there is one that promises a brighter tomorrow.

We all know life doesn’t offer any guarantees but I am trying to remember for any of the times I have said this to someone or had it said to me, did it truly offer solace? I think I would prefer the comfort of a hug or a funny story to distract me from my woes. To me a silver lining is the same thing as saying “it could always be worse”. Well yes it certainly could. And maybe it will be worse next time. Not a comforting thought at all but we continue to lie to ourselves and our loved ones because sometimes silence isn’t the answer either.

Have you ever seen the movie “The Silver Linings Playbook”? I saw it in the movie theater and somehow always find it on TV in the middle on a channel as I flipping by. Each and every time I stop and watch it, though the total dysfunction of this family rather annoys me. I have to control myself so that I am not screaming at the top of my lungs at the TV.

When I searched for the title on Google this was the conclusion it reached:

“Pat has a theory that life is a film created by God and that its ‘silver lining’ will be his successful reunion with his wife Nikki."

I honestly do not know what that means. I keep reading it over and over again and it’s weird. The rest of the paragraph doesn’t help either.  I am apparently missing something when I watch that movie. It’s okay I think that’s a sign of sanity and I will take it.

I hope you all find your silver linings today.

For me, I am happy that it is Friday, and even better that it’s Find Out Friday (Week 11 I can’t believe it!) and that is all the positivity I need for now.

Another blog has been tagged, bagged, and done.

For More Information:

http://www.knowyourphrase.com/phrase-meanings/Every-Cloud-Has-a-Silver-Lining.html

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/silver-lining

https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/silver%20lining

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045658/


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