victory written all over someone's face
- idiom
- Informal
:
victoria escrita en el rostro
- After winning the championship, she had victory written all over her face.
Examples
-
When she got the promotion, she had victory written all over her face.
-
Look at her! There's victory written all over her face!
-
After winning the match, there was victory written all over his face.
-
You can tell from his expression—he's got victory written all over his face.
-
After winning the match, there was victory written all over his face.
-
When she got the promotion, she had victory written all over her face.
-
You can tell from his expression—he's got victory written all over his face.
Synonyms
58
3.7
Feeling very happy and proud after a win or success
5
4.0
A strong feeling you can clearly see on someone's face
3
7.3
Very happy and proud because of a big success
Antonyms
223
1.7
A feeling of sadness or being let down when something you wanted does not happen
How Triumphant
15
4.1
- Informal
38
2.0
139
1.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
victory + written + all + over + someone's + face
The phrase composes transparent elements — 'victory' + 'written' + 'all over' + 'face' — so a B1 learner who knows the words can infer that victory is clearly visible on someone's face (i.e., their expression shows success). The metaphorical use of 'written' to mean 'clearly shown' is common and has parallels in many languages, so the overall meaning is predictable rather than idiomatic.
Etymology
Victory written all over someone's face comes from a strong image: someone is so pleased that the word victory looks written on their face. That's why it means 'clearly showing success or happiness'.