a diver lining
Preserved but no longer current.
The prospect of better days, the promise of happier times. The saying, Erery; cloud has a silver lining, is an old one; thus m Milton's Comus, the Lady lost in the wood resolves to hope on, and sees a "sable cloud turn forth its silver lining to the night.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “a diver lining” mean?
The prospect of better days, the promise of happier times. The saying, Erery; cloud has a silver lining, is an old one; thus m Milton's Comus, the Lady lost in the wood resolves to hope on, and sees a "sable cloud turn forth its silver lining to the night.
Is “a diver lining” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.