What does the phrase "It's an ill wind that blows no good" mean? There are a couple of other sayings like this in English, but if I gave them to you, you would be able to get the meaning of this saying. There is also a cool saying in German along these lines. This saying is not heard much, but I like it myself. I believe my parents used to use it, especially my mother. My father didn't use this phrase, and he would have been unlikely to believe in such a concept anyway due to the nature of his worldview..