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Bad things combining to make something good

English Language & Usage Asked by Asad Kothawala on January 28, 2021

I’m looking for a single word (or two words) that means something along the lines, “Two bad things coming together to make something good.” When I say things it could mean events or objects or people or anything, that part is quite flexible. But it has to be a combination of two.

Alternatively I wouldn’t mind a word that would mean something like, “two bad things combining to make something far far worse” either.
Thanks!

EDIT: It needs to be obvious that two bad things are combining. Also I can’t use a phrase. I’m hoping to convert the word/2 words into a name, so that should help understand what I’m looking for.

3 Answers

Heard this in a movie once, it's not Shakespeare, but I thought it was catchy :)

Two wrongs make a right... an outright catastrophe.

Answered by Born2Smile on January 28, 2021

Actions combining to produce some unforeseen good result could be said to be fortuitous -

… the intensification of competition on the job market has only exacerbated our class anxiety, as hiring seems all the more uncertain if not fortuitous. —Jeffrey J. Williams, College English, November 2003

This is not restricted to combinations of pairs-of-things (OP's qualification), but can work for single or multiple events combining.

Answered by Dɑvïd on January 28, 2021

For your first request,

The two negatives canceled [each other] out

I'm sorry it's longer than you wanted, that's the shortest I could think of.

For your second request, you could make a two-word phrase, with the second word being compounded. For example,

Evil compounded OR Villainy compounded

Answered by aparente001 on January 28, 2021

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