English Idioms and Sayings

[RonBee]

What is meant by "Every cloud has a silver lining"?

(Learners?)

:)

[bmo]

Originally Posted by RonBee

Very good, BMO! Now, what does it mean to save something for a rainy day?

Save something for later use when you are in need.

We have a great harvest this year, we should save some grains for a rainy day.

BMO

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by bmo

Save something for later use when you are in need.

We have a great harvest this year, we should save some grains for a rainy day.

BMO

Very good!

(The word grain (like rice or wheat) is not usually pluralized. The exception is when we are talking about individual grains, for example: grains of sand or grains of wheat.

[Edited to fix a goof. (The word pluralized had been something else.)]

[bmo]

Originally Posted by RonBee

What is meant by "Every cloud has a silver lining"?

(Learners?)

:)

Every cloud has a silver lining: In every bad situation, some good thing will come out of it.

Example: Although Howard Dean lost the presidential election bid, every cloud has a silver lining, he has other candidates focused on the Iraq war and he initiated a grass root internet campaign movement.

RonBee, what is the difference between this and "A blessing in disguise?" I think the latter is "A misfortune turns out to be a fortune at the end." Agree? Here is a Chinese story to illustrate this. (But I saw a Portugese version that is almost identical; perhaps readers can offer opinions.)

A old man near the Great Wall of China sadden at the loss of his horse was happy to see his horse comes home later with a female horse - a bad thing turned out to be a good thing after all. Sometimes later, his son fell from the horse and broke his leg, the old man was sad again. However, some times later, all the young men in the villege were drafted into the army to fight, the son was spared because of his broken leg - again, a bad situation turned out to be a good fortune at the end.

"Every cloud has a silver lining" is different. Howard Dean's losing bid may not be a blessing, but some good things did come out of the campaign.

BMO

[bmo]

Originally Posted by tdol

Is #3 okay grammatically? BMO

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by bmo

Every cloud has a silver lining: In every bad situation, some good thing will come out of it.

Example: Although Howard Dean lost the presidential election bid, every cloud has a silver lining, he has other candidates focused on the Iraq war and he initiated a grass root internet campaign movement.

RonBee, what is the difference between this and "A blessing in disguise?" I think the latter is "A misfortune turns out to be a fortune at the end." Agree? Here is a Chinese story to illustrate this. (But I saw a Portugese version that is almost identical; perhaps readers can offer opinions.)

A old man near the Great Wall of China sadden at the loss of his horse was happy to see his horse comes home later with a female horse - a bad thing turned out to be a good thing after all. Sometimes later, his son fell from the horse and broke his leg, the old man was sad again. However, some times later, all the young men in the villege were drafted into the army to fight, the son was spared because of his broken leg - again, a bad situation turned out to be a good fortune at the end.

"Every cloud has a silver lining" is different. Howard Dean's losing bid may not be a blessing, but some good things did come out of the campaign.

BMO

Your analysis is good, but may I make a few corrections in your story?

• A old man near the Great Wall of China saddened at the loss of his horse happy to see his horse come home later with a female horse -- a bad thing turned out to be a good thing after all. Sometimes later, his son fell from the horse and broke his leg. The old man was sad again. However, some times later, all the young men in the villege were drafted into the army to fight, but the son was spared because of his broken leg. again, a bad situation turned out to be a good thing in the end.

What do you think?

:)

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by bmo

Is #3 okay grammatically? BMO

Yes, but the first sentence might be better like this:

• Pastor Yang and our congregation had been agonizing for some time over whether to build our own church or continue to rent.

What do you think?

:)

[bmo]

Originally Posted by RonBee

A old man near the Great Wall of China saddened at the loss of his horse happy to see his horse come home later with a female horse -- a bad thing turned out to be a good thing after all. Sometimes later, his son fell from the horse and broke his leg. The old man was sad again. However, some times later, all the young men in the villege were drafted into the army to fight, but the son was spared because of his broken leg. Again, a bad situation turned out to be a good thing in the end.[/list]
What do you think?

:)

Thanks. Much better. It is AN old man, we both missed that. BMO

[bmo]

Originally Posted by RonBee

Yes, but the first sentence might be better like this:

• Pastor Yang and our congregation had been agonizing for some time over whether to build our own church or continue to rent.

What do you think?

:)

Yes, it's better to move the time factor there right after agonizing. Thanks. BMO

[RonBee]

Here's another one. :)

What does it mean to "call the shots"?

:)