days are numbered
7
7.4
- idiom
- Informal
:
sus días están contados
- Let me tell you something, your days are numbered.
- know your days are numbered
- think his days are numbered
- said your days are numbered
But post Malone's days are numbered, it looks like to me.
- But post Malone's days are numbered, it looks like to me.
- So after this happens, Samosa's days are numbered.
- It looked he had lost control of all of the cities and as a result of that it looked like his days were numbered.
- Do you think it's possible that Zelensky's days are numbered as the president and that somebody like Zoluchini comes to power?
- I wasn't thinking her days are numbered.
Examples
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He was an outlaw, and he knew his days were numbered.
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When I came along and obviously knew what I was doing, they knew their days were numbered.
Blog text (13) -
- His days are numbered.
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Your days are numbered... ...unless I help you.
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Their days are numbered, in my opinion.
Blog text (5) -
Her Majesty is very ill, and her days are numbered.
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He has no idea his days are numbered.
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There's trouble ahead of you, and your days are numbered.
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"The political insiders think they run the state, but I've got news for them: their days are numbered."
Blog text (3) -
There's trouble ahead of you, and your days are numbered.
Synonyms
4
5.6
Having little time left before it ends
Antonyms
How Long
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'does not have much time left' is derivable from the constituents because 'numbered' (counted/limited) applied to 'days' naturally implies a limited remaining span; this figurative use is a straightforward metaphorical extension. Although the phrase is idiomatic, its logic is cross-linguistically common (e.g. 'your days are numbered' ≈ 'tus días están contados'), so a B1 learner who understands 'numbered' as 'counted/limited' will usually grasp the meaning.
Etymology
Days are numbered comes from the simple picture of someone counting the days left on a calendar, as if each day is already numbered and will run out. So it now means 'not much time left' or 'soon to end'.