the handwriting on the wall

Cultural  

1. 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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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.”

Example Sentences

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

From Los Angeles Times

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

From Salon

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

From Los Angeles Times

“With my requests for transfers to career-enhancing squads consistently denied, my credibility and competency constantly questioned, and the common use of racial epithets in my presence,” she wrote, “I saw the handwriting on the wall: Because of my race I would never be allowed to have a successful career in the Secret Service.”

From Washington Post

Michael Cohen saw the handwriting on the wall.

From Salon