Its an ill wind

   Share on Facebook  
User_gary  #310766  Fri, 05 Jan 07 01:13 PM

It's an ill wind that blows nobody good. 

It's an ill wind - someone profits from every loss


Said comfortingly of misfortunes that may bring some benefits.  (What is the meaning of this sentence?)


The 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'.
It 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' (... if it makes nobody turn to doing something worthwhile), a version that makes better sense in implying that misfortune brings out the best in people.

Could anyone explain the above two paragraphs.

  
Top 50 Contributor
Joined on Fri, Jan 5 2007
India
Senior Member (2,514)
Honesty is the best policy
Feebs11  #310771  Fri, 05 Jan 07 01:30 PM
Said comfortingly of misfortunes that may bring some benefits.
Sometimes 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.  An 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. Now you can rebuild..

(... if it makes nobody turn to doing something worthwhile), a version that makes better sense in implying that misfortune brings out the best in people.

The 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. I think I wouldn't worry about its meaning.



 
  
Top 25 Contributor
Joined on Thu, Nov 23 2006
UK
Veteran Member (5,003)
ModeratorProficient Speaker
User_gary  #310786  Fri, 05 Jan 07 01:58 PM

 Feebs11 wrote:
Said comfortingly of misfortunes that may bring some benefits.
Sometimes 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.  An 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. Now you can rebuild..

(... if it makes nobody turn to doing something worthwhile), a version that makes better sense in implying that misfortune brings out the best in people.

The 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. I think I wouldn't worry about its meaning.



 

Thank you Feebs 11.  I know you tried your best to explain me.

But sorry, I didn't understand. (I am very weak in english). 

.

Look at the following

An 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. Now you can rebuild

What is `An extreme example'?

What is `pull it down'?

(... if it makes nobody turn to doing something worthwhile), a version that makes better sense in implying that misfortune brings out the best in people.

The 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. I think I wouldn't worry about its meaning.

What is the meaning of `nobody turn' and `worthwhile'?

What is the meaning of version?

  
Feebs11  #310920  Fri, 05 Jan 07 09:01 PM
Ok - An extreme example - an example that is  an exaggeration.

Pull it down - in this case, destroy the house by knocking its walls down

Worthwhile - worth time and effort being spent on doing something

version - in this case, a form that is a little different from other examples of the saying.

Gary - do you have an dictionary?  If not, this site gives access to lots of online dictionaries :  [link]
.


  
AddThis Feed Button RSS Feed: ESL, Learn Basic English Vocabulary
© 2008 MediaCET Ltd.
Terms and Conditions & Terms of Service