a rainy day

a rainy day

A time or period of unforeseen difficulty, trouble, or need. I know you want to buy a new TV with your bonus, but you should really save that money for a rainy day. I put aside a portion of my wages each month for a rainy day.
See also: rainy
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

rainy day, a

A time of need or trouble, as in We knew a rainy day would come sooner or later. This idiom is often used in the context of save for a rainy day, which means to put something aside for a future time of need. [Late 1500s]
See also: rainy
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

a rainy day

a possible time of need, usually financial need, in the future.
The expression may originate from the days when casual farm labourers needed to save a proportion of their wages ‘for a rainy day’, i.e. for occasions when bad weather might prevent them from working and earning money.
2002 New York Times Book Review The Russian walked out of K.G.B. headquarters with ‘insurance against a rainy day’—the K.G.B.'s file on its secret mole inside the F.B.I.
See also: rainy
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • rainy
  • rainy day, a
  • save (something) for a rainy day
  • save for a rainy day
  • save, keep, etc. it for a rainy day
  • hold (something) back for a rainy day
  • keep (something) for a rainy day
  • put (something) aside for a rainy day
  • in the money
  • go into service
References in classic literature
NOT long after Grandfather had told the story of his great chair, there chanced to be a rainy day. Our friend Charley, after disturbing the household with beat of drum and riotous shouts, races up and down the staircase, overturning of chairs, and much other uproar, began to feel the quiet and confinement within doors intolerable.
Grandfathers Chair
When the old man died some years after I stepped into his place, and now of course I have top wages, and can lay by for a rainy day or a sunny day, as it may happen, and Nelly is as happy as a bird.
Black Beauty
Find out some respectable woman with a little property--somebody in the landlady way, or lodging-letting way--and marry her, against a rainy day. That's the kind of thing for YOU.
Tale Of Two Cities
When I was younger, television was still the predominant technology children had to entertain themselves with on a rainy day. There were reruns of Spongebob Squarepants on Nickelodeon and Kim Possible on The Disney Channel.
ON RAINY SCHOOL DAYS
[USA], May 5 (ANI): American director Woody Allen's rom-com 'A Rainy Day in New York' which was shelved by Amazon in 2018, is now set to release in Italy on October 3.
Woody Allen's 'A Rainy Day in New York' set to release in Italy
Two-fifths (41%) of those without a rainy day fund said they had previously had one but needed to dip into it and had not yet saved up again.
POUND NOTES
"Once Upon a Rainy Day" is the story of a story, that starts over every time the same way, except when it rains.
Once Upon a Rainy Day
On a rainy day I like to stay home and watch television with my little brother and sister.
My favorite rainy day activity
Given the boom-and-bust nature of state finances, a case can be made that putting money into a rainy day fund is the most prudent course of action.
A drop in the bucket: rainy day funds proved no match against recession-era budget gaps
(BMO recommends having a rainy day fund that can cover 3 to 6 months of expenses.)
Canadians' rainy day funds running dry
" The Exec Committee wanted to save the revenues from increased ticket sales and merchandise into a rainy day fund -- a fund that would allow them to remain competitive if, and when the World Series revenue bounce disappeared (as of today, the Giants are 7.5 back of the Diamondbacks and 6 games away from being eliminated from the playoffs).
Does Bill Neukom's Departure as Managing Partner of Giants Mean A's Get Into San Jose?
Let state '0' represents that a day is a non-rainy day and state '1' represents the day is a rainy day in the rainy season of a year.
Markov chain analysis of rainfall data
The kicker law has long stood in the way of a rainy day fund, because the state had to rebate unanticipated revenues rather than save them for later.
It can rain only once
'Industry research shows the most popular reason for saving is for a rainy day. It's great news that there is now an account specifically designed to provide a home for those emergency funds,' Ms Morgan said
PERSONAL FINANCE : Saving a brolly good idea
* What wildlife would we be more likely to see on a rainy day than on a sunny day?
Rainy day fun: rain-inspired activities