writing on the wall
Unmistakable warning sign
Writing on the wall is a sign of impending trouble or doom, usually one that others fail to notice: The writing was on the wall for months before the company collapsed.
The phrase comes from a biblical story in which mysterious words appear on a wall during a feast, foretelling the king's downfall.
Someone who sees the writing on the wall recognizes that failure or disaster is coming.
- BelshazzarDoomed Babylonian monarch
- portentSign of future calamity
- omenProphetic indicator
- bad signForeboding indicator
- red flagIndicator of danger
prefigurement · warning · divine judgment · harbinger · doom · inevitable · prognostic · fate · Daniel · threat · biblical prophecy · foretaste · foreshadowing · presage · hunch · sign of the times · see it coming · foreboding
- Biblical ExpressionsGarden of Eden, David and Goliath, Good Samaritan, prodigal son, forbidden fruit
- Biblical imageryLamb of God, Good Shepherd, bread of life, light of the world, living water
- Historical AllusionsTrojan horse, Achilles heel, Pyrrhic victory, crossing the Rubicon, Pandora's box
- Exile BooksDaniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Book of Daniel, Babylonian exile
- fatedestiny, fate, kismet, Moira, fated
- Biblical ReferencesAdam and Eve, ark, forbidden fruit, Garden of Eden, Ten Commandments
writing on the wallgood omen
Favorable sign of future
ray of hope · silver lining · good tidings · light at the end of the tunnel · green light
writing on the wallclean slate
Record wiped clear
fresh start · new beginning · uncertainty · unpredictability · second chance
writing on the wallbolt from the blue
Sudden unforeseen event
caught off guard · blind spot · blindside · out of nowhere · ignorance is bliss
wall, writer, writing, written, handwriting, writes, writers, writings, rewriting