writing on the wall
14
5.5
- idiom
- Informal
:
se veía venir
- After months of declining sales, the team finally saw the writing on the wall and knew they needed to change their strategy.
- see the writing on the wall
It forces us Europeans to read the writing on the wall and take more responsibility.
- It forces us Europeans to read the writing on the wall and take more responsibility.
- Instead of looking at the writing on the wall, look at the spaces in between.
- Once the narcissistic person sees the writing on the wall, and often way before that happens, they start hiding money.
- It is kind of like the writing on the wall.
- Greed sees good works and sees the writing on the wall, is dismayed, tries to get away.
- And the silent writing on the wall is that keep doing this and you will be viewed in this new way which isn't truly you.
Examples
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Eventually, I got out of it because I saw the writing on the wall.
Blog text (27) -
LDS leaders could not avoid the "writing on the wall" that the world was changing.
Blog text (7) -
Should I read the writing on the wall?
-
Oh, God, I can see the writing on the wall.
-
And even back then, the writing on the wall about climate change and energy production was clear.
Blog text (4) -
I can see the writing on the wall as clear as day.
Blog text (28) -
For its part, Hollywood has seen the writing on the wall.
Academic text (1994) -
The Congressional leaders saw the writing on the wall: work for the people or you are history.
Blog text (14) -
Anyone who has been awake the past 20 years could see the writing on the wall.
Blog text (12) -
I suspect he just saw the writing on the wall and backed out.
Blog text (1)
Synonyms
∞
3.2
An event that shows something is happening or will happen
∞
1.0
A statement or sign that tells people about danger before it happens
54
1.6
Something that shows there may be danger or a problem
10
8.7
A sign that something important, often bad, will happen
10
1.3
An obvious thing that shows something is true
1
3.7
A sign that something dangerous may happen
Antonyms
How Ominous
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally evokes visible 'writing' located 'on' a 'wall', so a learner who knows the words can plausibly infer it refers to a visible sign or indication. However, its conventional idiomatic sense—an often ominous, culturally grounded warning of imminent failure—is partly conventionalized and not fully predictable from the parts, making full comprehension without prior exposure uncertain.
Etymology
Writing on the wall comes from a famous Bible story where mysterious writing appeared on a king's wall to warn that his city would fall, and everyone could see the danger. So, the phrase now means 'a clear sign or warning that something bad will happen'.