writing on the wall
An ominous warning; a prediction of bad luck.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The company is failing and everyone sees the writing on the wall.”
“I see the writing on the wall for our old car.”
“After the manager resigned and sales dropped, the staff saw the writing on the wall for the department.”
“When the landlord stopped fixing the leaks and put a 'For Sale' sign outside, the tenants saw the writing on the wall.”
“You should look at the writing on the wall before you invest more money into a business that loses customers every month.”
“Despite the optimistic speeches from the board, the sudden departure of key investors served as the writing on the wall for the struggling enterprise.”
From the Biblical story in Daniel 5, where, during a feast held by King Belshazzar, a hand suddenly appears and writes on a wall the following Aramaic words: מְנֵא מְנֵא תְּקֵל וּפַרְסִין (mənē mənē təqēl ūp̄arsīn, “numbered, numbered, weighed, and they are divided”) (Daniel 5:25). Daniel interprets the words as pointing to the downfall of the Babylonian Empire.
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back to the wall
A very difficult situation with no beneficial options available for action.
- 02
balls to the wall
With maximum effort or commitment.
- 03
bang one's head against a brick wall
To waste effort on a futile project.
- 04
blue wall of silence
Strict secretiveness maintained by the members of a police force with respect to information which might be contrary to their interests, especially information concerning questionable police actions.
- 05
bounce off the walls
To be overly active relative to the enclosed space in which one is.
- 06
break the fourth wall
To apparently communicate with reality directly, such as when characters of literature comment on the existence of a reader.
- 07
Chinese Wall
An information barrier within an organization, designed to ensure internal confidentiality; frequently used to prevent conflicts of interest.
- 08
climb the walls
To behave in a distressed or frantic manner; to exhibit great agitation.
Last updated August 10, 2026