Meanings
- alternativeAlternative form of it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good.
Dear Mr Pozzo, I’m sorry to hear you’ve parted with your fellow countryman Mr Ranieri, but I always think it’s an ill wind that blows nobody good, and hence my letter.
2022 January 25, Scott Murray, quoting LR Williams, “Watford’s fight against the current with waterway enthusiast Cap’n Roy”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 Jan 20222 more examples
While the drouth is a most regrettable occurrence, the resultant scarcity of the pests is one compensation that enables Ste. Genevievans to enjoy an occasional evening on lawn or front porch and to feel the full meaning of the old saw that says “It’s an ill wind that blows nobody good.”
1930 August 23, “Fewer Mosquitoes in Season of Drouth”, in Ste. Genevieve Herald, volume 49, number 23, Ste. Genevieve, Mo., →OCLC, front page, column 6It’s an ill wind that blows nobody good, and the crisis in Greece is making some people — people who opposed health care reform and are itching for an excuse to dismantle Social Security — very, very happy.
2010 May 13, Paul Krugman, “We’re Not Greece”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 May 2010
Cite this entry
it's an ill wind that blows nobody good. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/it's%20an%20ill%20wind%20that%20blows%20nobody%20good
“it's an ill wind that blows nobody good.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/it's%20an%20ill%20wind%20that%20blows%20nobody%20good. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “it's an ill wind that blows nobody good,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/it's%20an%20ill%20wind%20that%20blows%20nobody%20good.
Source: it's an ill wind that blows nobody good on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.