THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL Definition & Meaning

the handwriting on the wall

A phrase recalling an Old Testament story about Daniel . While a king was holding the Jews (see also Jews ) captive in the foreign land of Babylon (see also Babylon ), in the sixth century b.c. , a mysterious hand appeared, writing on the wall of the king's palace. The king called upon Daniel, who interpreted it to mean that God intended the king and his kingdom to fall. The king was slain that night.

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Notes

Figuratively, the expression means that some misfortune is impending: “His firing came as no surprise; he'd seen the handwriting on the wall months before.”

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The transfer to Turkey happened, Eugen Merzbacher told me, because his father’s bosses “saw the handwriting on the wall.”

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Once the Texas Supreme Court issued its stay last Friday, Ms. Cox saw the handwriting on the wall.

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But they could read the handwriting on the wall from the UAW’s contract settlements.

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Trump should be able to see the handwriting on the wall.

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“People see the handwriting on the wall, to use an Old Testament term,” he said, adding, conservative Christians “realize we cannot control the culture.”

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