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User_gary Posted 19 years ago
Vocabulary

its an ill wind

0It's an ill wind that blows nobody good. 02br
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00It's an ill wind - someone profits from every loss02br
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00Said comfortingly of misfortunes that may bring some benefits.00 (What is the meaning of this sentence?)02br
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00The full saying is 'It's an ill wind that blows nobody good', the emphasis being 'it is indeed a harsh wind if it damages everybody'. 02br
00It was already proverbial when recorded by Thomas Tusser in Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry (1580) as 'It is an ill wind turns to good' (...00 if it makes nobody turn to doing something worthwhile00), a version00 that makes better sense in implying that misfortune brings out the best in people.02br
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00Could anyone explain the above two paragraphs.0-
  

Top answer

02font 02br 00Sometimes things (life, business, gardening, whatever you like) go wrong, but sometimes things go better afterwards, or at least are not as bad as was thought at the time. 01i 00An extreme example: Your house is blown away in a high wind, but you had been wanting to rebuild it anyway and hadn't money enough to pull it down. 02font 02br 02br 00The quotation from Thomas Tusser is "It is an ill wind turns to good if it makes nobody turn to doing something worthwhile"; being a 16th century piece of writing, the terminology and use of words is not the same as today.

— Feebs11

  • 02font 02br 00Sometimes things (life, business, gardening, whatever you like) go wrong, but sometimes things go better afterwards, or at least are not as bad as was thought at the time.
  • 01i 00An extreme example: Your house is blown away in a high wind, but you had been wanting to rebuild it anyway and hadn't money enough to pull it down.
  • 02font 02br 02br 00The quotation from Thomas Tusser is "It is an ill wind turns to good if it makes nobody turn to doing something worthwhile"; being a 16th century piece of writing, the terminology and use of words is not the same as today.
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3 Answers
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0 01font00Said comfortingly of misfortunes that may bring some benefits.02font02br
00Sometimes things (life, business, gardening, whatever you like) go wrong, but sometimes things go better afterwards, or at least are not as bad as was thought at the time. 01i00An extreme example: Your house is blown away
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01cite10Feebs1112cite10Said comfortingly of misfortunes that may bring some benefits.12br
10Sometimes things (life, business, gardening, whatever you like) go wrong, but sometimes things go better afterwards, or at least are not as bad as was thought at the time. 11i10An extreme example: Your house is blown away i
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0 Ok - An extreme example - an example that is an exaggeration.02br
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00Pull it down - in this case, destroy the house by knocking its walls down02br
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00Worthwhile - worth time and effort being spent on doing something02br
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00version - in this case, a form that is a little different from other examples of the saying.02br
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