handwriting on the wall

Idioms  

1. Also, writing on the wall. A warning or presentiment of danger, as in The company was losing money, and seeing the handwriting on the wall, she started to look for another job. This expression comes from the Bible (Daniel 5:5–31), in which the prophet interprets some mysterious writing that a disembodied hand has inscribed on the palace wall, telling King Belshazzar that he will be overthrown.

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Example Sentences

But the inept followers aside — and many of them are falling to the side — there are those who see the handwriting on the wall.

From Salon • Feb. 27, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2023

Black can see the handwriting on the wall after 41…Bxb6 42.

From Washington Times • Sep. 14, 2021

Perhaps he saw the handwriting on the wall.

From New York Times • Jan. 12, 2018

Stassen saw the handwriting on the wall: his tenure as Eisenhower’s “secretary of peace” effectively had come to an end.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik