An ill windAn ill wind : PhrasesMeaning: A negative effect.
Example: Origin: The use of ill wind is most commonly in the phrase 'it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good'. This is first recorded in John Heywood's A dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the prouerbes in the Englishe tongue, 1546: "An yll wynde that blowth no man to good, men say." Its listing there as proverbial demonstrates an earlier derivation. That meaning, which is still understood today, was subverted somewhat later to provide a second meaning. In Rob Roy, Sir Walter Scott included: "Nane were keener against it than the Glasgow folk, wi' their rabblings and their risings, and their mobs, as they ca' them now-a-days. But it's an ill wind blaws naebody gude." The meaning there is clearly the opposite of the old proverb, i.e. a wind that didn't provide benefit to someone would be a bad and unusual one indeed. Into the 20th century we find a punning joke on the phrase that has been attributed to many people, notably Sir Thomas Beecham, although I'm unable to authenticate the true source. This calls the notoriously difficult to play French horn - "the wind that nobody blows good". The little joke was popularized by Danny Kaye's character in the 1947 film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, although in that version they unfairly opted for the tuneful oboe, presumably as 'French horn' didn't scan: And the oboe it is clearly understood Is an ill wind that no one blows good. Phrases Index | ||
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