What Does “A Blessing In Disguise” Mean? How To Use It

The English language is riddled with phrases that seemingly don’t make any sense. These are what’s known as idioms because they’re meant to be taken figuratively. Understanding what these things mean opens the language up in a whole new, interesting way.

“A blessing in disguise” is a phrase that can seem somewhat puzzling until you understand that the person means that there was an apparent misfortune that actually turned out to have really good results. In other words, while you may have thought yourself unlucky, you’re actually quite blessed.

Meaning of the Phrase

When someone tells you that it was “a blessing in disguise” what they’re telling you is that an apparent misfortune that seemed to have caused them problems eventually turned out to have good results or advantages. So when you use this phrase you’re trying to convey that while all you initially noticed were the problems and difficulties eventually you realized that this was the best thing that could have happened. A few of the other ways in which you can say this include:

• An evil situation had a good outcome
• An advantageous situation resulted from an unfortunate event
• You’ve received a positive outcome from what looked like a troubling situation
• Something good came from something terrible
• Unexpectedly you’ve had good fortune come from misfortune

Synonyms

If you want to summarize this saying with a synonym there are several ways in which you can do so. These include:

• classic
• dream
• inspiration
• marvel
• masterpiece
• miracle
• model
• phenomenon
• sublime
• thoroughbred

Related Phrases

Just like there are synonyms that you can use to summarize this saying, there are also other phrases that have similar meanings. These include:

• “Count your blessings” means that you should be grateful for the good things that have happened to you instead of spending your time regretting the bad things that have happened to you.
• A “mixed blessing” is one that has both good and bad aspects.
• “The glass is half full” means that you spend your time thinking about good things instead of bad things.
• “The glass is half empty” means that you spend your time thinking about bad things instead of good things.
• To “find the silver lining” means that there’s something good that can be found in every bad situation.
• “Bitter pills may have blessed effects” means that though something might be tough to swallow it will benefit us in the long run.

Antonyms

When you don’t want to say that something is “a blessing in disguise” it’s because you’re trying to say that a fortunate event turned out to be quite unfortunate. One phrase that you could use to say this is “even roses have thorns.” You could also say that “not everything is as it seems.” Both of these phrases are ways of saying that something is more of a curse than a blessing. Therefore the literal opposite would be “a curse in disguise” but this isn’t something that we hear said frequently.

Origin of the Phrase

It’s believed that the phrase “a blessing in disguise” originated in the mid-1700s. Unfortunately, nobody has been able to actually pin down the very first time when it was first used. Some say that it was in the hymn entitled “Since all the downward tracts of time” by James Hervey (1714–1758).

One of the first times that we see the phrase being used was in print in 1746 by the English writer James Hervey. In a well-known work entitled “Reflections on a Flower-Garden” which was included in his book “Meditations and Contemplations” he used the phrase, “a blessing in disguise.” However, there isn’t any evidence that he coined the phrase.

Since all the downward tracts of time

God’s watchful eye surveys,

O who so wise to choose our lot

Or to appoint our ways?

Good when He gives, supremely good,

Nor less when He denies;

Ev’n crosses from His sovereign hand

Are blessings in disguise.

Why should we doubt a Father’s love,

So constant and so kind?

To His unerring, gracious will

Be every wish resigned.

In this hymn, we read Hervey’s meditation on the wisdom of accepting what God chooses to bestow upon us. Hervey mentions that God may use His infinite wisdom to give us something that appears to be negative at first but is really “a blessing in disguise.” He goes on to say how important and wise it is to accept whatever God has planned for us, depicting life’s negative-seeming obstacles as God’s way of sending us “a blessing in disguise.”

Over a century after Hervey wrote his meditation the phrase was used in a Civil War-era cartoon that caught a lot of people’s interest. Entitled “Blessings in Disguise” this cartoon depicted the president of the Confederate states, Jefferson David, being surrounded by a bunch of defeated cities. Herein it was suggested that the confederacy became stronger by losing some of the lands it had to defend. In other words, this was “a blessing in disguise” for the confederacy’s supporters because the Confederate Army had been stretched too thinly previously.

In 1900 there was a Chinese folk tale that told the story of how an injury saved a man’s life because it kept him from being killed in battle. Herein the phrase “a blessing in disguise” was translated into Chinese as “An Zhi Fei Fu.” This is something that a British Medical Journal took note of. They were commenting on how they saw numerous cases in which an assault or an injury had inadvertently led to a medical condition being cured. It was said that these were “surgical blessings in disguise.”

Today the phrase has been used as the title of many different books (e.g. the novel, “A Blessing in Disguise” by Danielle Steel in 2019) and songs (e.g. “Blessing in Disguise” by Michael McDonald, “Blessings in Disguise” by Michael Martin Murphy) as well as the name of a charity.

Usage of the Phrase

Throughout history, the phrase “a blessing in disguise” has been used in various mediums and in many different ways. This just happens to be one of those phrases that fit a variety of situations well. For instance, you might use the phrase whenever you’re trying to make your friend feel better when they’ve missed out on an important opportunity. By saying that this is “a blessing in disguise” you may be implying that while they’ve lost out on the opportunity something better will come along or that their loss is actually their gain.

Why Writers Use This Phrase

Clearly, you can see that there have been a lot of writers throughout history who’ve used the phrase, “a blessing in disguise.” This is because it’s easy to use it as though you were using it in everyday conversation. Of course, these writers are depending on their readers understanding this phrase because of their cultural upbringing. Unfortunately, this means that there will always be some people who don’t understand what this phrase means – something that most writers are very aware of. This is why most writers will offer contextual clues to help their readers work out the meaning of this phrase like they would if they used any other word that the readers may not have heard before. When this is done it’s important to fit the phrase into the text in a way that’s more natural or relatable – a way that doesn’t unnecessarily complicate things.

Example Sentences

Now that you have a better grasp of this phrase you may want to start using it yourself. Here are a few sample sentences to help you get started:

• Losing my job is actually a blessing in disguise.
• The increased level of publicity could be a blessing in disguise.
• Failure to conclude the trade talks may be a blessing in disguise.
• The COVID-19 quarantine was a blessing in disguise because it gave me a lot of time to spend with my family.
• Fracturing his knee proved to be a blessing in disguise for Pete since it allowed him to get some of the rest that he really needed.
• Getting laid off was a blessing in disguise because it gave him a break from his hectic work life so he could do some other important things.
• It was a blessing in disguise when he failed his exams because it helped him realize that he wasn’t enjoying his college courses.
• Missing the train proved to be a blessing in disguise because it ultimately got into an accident that injured many people.
• Being dumped by my boyfriend was a blessing in disguise because otherwise, I wouldn’t have met the man who’s now my husband.
• When her car broke down it proved to be a blessing in disguise because if it hadn’t broken down she may have been a part of the major accident that happened on the route she takes to work.

Conclusion

While nobody knows for certain where the phrase “a blessing in disguise” originated it’s been used in many different places throughout history. Regardless of where or how it’s used, it always means that something bad has turned out good.