Danish expression of the day: held i uheld

Even the Danish language has its silver linings, and today's expression of the day is one of them.

Literally translated, held i uheld means “luck in bad luck”. Held i uheld is an expression used when a stroke of good fortune happens during an otherwise bad situation. You could consider a “silver lining” or “a blessing in disguise” to be a more accurate English translation, however held i uheld has a slightly different nuance. While a “blessing in disguise” often turns out to be entirely positive, held i uheld acknowledges a situation may truly have been unfortunate, but that you got lucky with the circumstances surrounding it.

The root word held comes from the Old Norse heill , meaning good fortune, prosperity, or a favorable omen. Adding the negative prefix u- creates uheld (bad luck or an accident).

The expression is closely modeled on the older German phrase Glück im Unglück ("luck in misfortune"), with direct parallels across Scandinavia (Norwegian hell i uhell and Swedish tur i oturen ).

Danes tend to value realism over forced positivity. Held i uheld allows you to admit that something went wrong while recognising that things could easily have been worse.

The saying is also used very commonly, being a staple of everyday conversation and workplace small talk.

Det var held i uheld, at industriferien stod for døren, med knap så megen travlhed, da branden udbrød.

“It was a stroke of luck that the summer holidays were just around the corner, bringing with it a quieter period when the fire broke out.”

Jeg ville gerne have taget videre ud i byen, men det var held i uheld at jeg blev hængende i baren, for det var der jeg mødte min kæreste.

“I would have liked to go clubbing, but it was a stroke of luck that I stayed at the bar, as this is where I met my partner.”