Is there a phrase that is the opposite to “A rising tide lifts all boats”?
I am looking to use it in the context of financial markets. “A rising tide lifts all boats” means stocks move in an upward direction in a bull market. How so I describe when they all indiscriminately go down at same time?
Best Answer
Wolfgang Mieder, A Dictionary of American Proverbs (1992) suggests three (seemingly related) sayings that use rain as a metaphor. The most familiar of these (noted by Greybeard in a comment beneath the posted question) is
The sense here is that when large-scale trouble occurs, there is no discrimination between victims on the basis of their personal virtue or vice.
A similar sentiment is expressed in this alternative saying:
...except that here the question of personal merit doesn't come up at all.
A slightly different take on the underlying idea appears in this saying:
That is, the particular misfortunes that others suffer in a general calamity don't immunize you from injury or even (in any practical sense) reduce your own exposure to harm.