a blessing in disguise

An unfortunate event or situation that results in an unforeseen positive outcome. Running late for work turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I would have been in the middle of that big multi-car pileup had I left the house on time. A: "Being laid off turned out to be a blessing in disguise? Really?" B: "Oh, yeah. It gave me space to think about what I really want to be doing, and I ended up going back to school for my real passion—architecture." This will all work out, you'll see. I'm certain it's a blessing in disguise.

Fig. something that at first seems bad, but later turns out to be beneficial. Tony's motorcycle accident was a blessing in disguise, because he got enough insurance money from the other driver to make a down payment on a house. Dad's illness was a blessing in disguise; it brought the family together for the first time in years.

A misfortune that unexpectedly turns into good fortune, as in Missing the train was a blessing in disguise, for if I hadn't, I wouldn't have met my future wife . [Mid-1700s]

COMMON If an event is a blessing in disguise, it causes problems at first, but later brings greater advantages. Franklin's illness proved a blessing in disguise, for it gave him strength and courage which he had not had before. The defeat might be a blessing in disguise — she now avoids a quarter final clash with America's Linda Harvey-Wild. Other observers feel the split may be a blessing in disguise for the organization.

Good luck coming out of bad; a misfortune unexpectedly turning into a good thing. “E’en crosses from his sov’reign hand are blessings in disguise,” wrote the eighteenth-century poet James Hervey, “cross” here meaning “a cross to bear,” or burden. The phrase has been a cliché for about a century.