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I have been told this by an unknown man on the street a few years ago, when I was looking particularly sad.

It was something that meant to say 'it's not all bad, cheer up', and it either contained the word 'sea' or another word from the lexical field of sea/sea navigation. I just can't remember it right now. Thanks!

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    Something like "there are plenty of fish in the sea"?
    – Lawrence
    Commented Feb 20, 2016 at 22:42
  • Possible duplicate of encapsulating a positive thing among many negative things
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Feb 20, 2016 at 23:05
  • @Lawrence - good one, you should post it. I know it as There are plenty of other fish in the sea (i.e. you may have lost your love, but there are lots more to be found).
    – Dan
    Commented Feb 20, 2016 at 23:38
  • "After the storm comes the calm" ?
    – Graffito
    Commented Feb 21, 2016 at 0:12
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    @Dan Done. Yes, the version with "other" is also idiomatic.
    – Lawrence
    Commented Feb 21, 2016 at 8:12

2 Answers 2

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In the context of rejection, a well-known saying is:

There are plenty of [other] fish in the sea.
Meaning: there are many more potential opportunities available. - wikipedia

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The expression I remember is

There are worse things at sea.

but UsingEnglish.com renders it:

Worse things happen at sea.

This idiomatic expression is used as a way of telling someone not to worry so much about their problems [put them in perspective].

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  • I know/use only the second of your versions.
    – Dan
    Commented Feb 20, 2016 at 23:39
  • But there are quite a few Google hits for the first.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Feb 21, 2016 at 15:51
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    And they are subtly different: The first warns of the hostile nature of the sea (storms, monsters, the Unknown...), while the second hints at the awful things people can do to each other under pressure.
    – Dan
    Commented Feb 21, 2016 at 16:01

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