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Sentence #276494

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al_ex_an_der al_ex_an_der November 24, 2011 November 24, 2011 at 10:28:37 AM UTC link Permalink

This sentence is misunderstood by most people nowadays, it is too old language to be of any use. It means: If a wind doesn't blow any good, it is ill, but since there are (almost) no winds that don't blow any good, it is probably not only ill. Thus the phrase means that all bad things have their good sides and is often used in an ironic way to convey a positive judgement on something the other person sees as negative:

A: "Tomorrow, the world will end! Seas of blood! Earthquakes! The government will fall!"
B: "Well, it's an ill wind ..." (indicating that B is quite happy if the current government falls)

As above the phrase is often used only in the abbreviation "It's an ill wind...".

Imp Imp November 24, 2011 November 24, 2011 at 10:49:16 AM UTC link Permalink

"it is too old language to be of any use"

The saying/proverb is still used as an idiom by English speakers so I believe there's still some use in it for the project. Other languages have their own equivalents too and they usually are not literal translations of the English one. I guess the best translation of the idiom is the closest idiomatic equivalent in each specific language and not the literal rendition of the meaning.

Imp Imp November 24, 2011 November 24, 2011 at 10:54:19 AM UTC link Permalink

My interpretation of the meaning is "In any bad development or situation there's always something good to be found or gained" and thus, I guess the saying is very close in meaning to "Every cloud has a silver lining"

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License: CC BY 2.0 FR

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It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good.

added by an unknown member, date unknown

linked by Imp, November 24, 2011