beginning of the end, the

Idioms  

1. The start of a bad outcome (ruin, disaster, catastrophe, death), as in Joe's failing two of his courses was the beginning of the end; he dropped out soon afterward. This phrase, at first (16th century) used only to describe an approaching death, gained a new meaning after the French lost the battle of Leipzig in 1813 and Talleyrand said to Napoleon, “C'est le commencement de la fin” (“It's the beginning of the end”).

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Example Sentences

The third year of high school marks the beginning of the end, the countdown months — in less than two years, your child will be graduated and gone.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 13, 2023

I should've realized then that this was the beginning of the end, the now-evident shift Gail and Tom as the face of the show . . . not Padma.

From Salon • Jun. 10, 2023

Little did we know that was the beginning of the end, the smashed Escalade serving as a metaphor for Tiger’s personal life and career.

From Washington Times • Sep. 21, 2015

Part be-in, part paean to the beginning of the end, the Convergence drew followers to Mount Shasta in California, Central Park in New York, Ayers Rock in Australia and many other spots in August 1987.

From New York Times • Apr. 3, 2011

All was over now; this was the beginning of the end; the shadow had fallen.

From The Shadow of a Crime A Cumbrian Romance by Caine, Hall, Sir