the writing’s on the wall
2019.11.20
Meaning:
‘The writing’s on the wall’ means ‘there are clear signs that something bad will happen’. For example, we might say ‘My boyfriend hasn’t phoned me for 3 weeks. The writing’s on the wall.’ This means ‘I understand my boyfriend is not in love with me anymore’. This expression comes from an old Bible story. In the story, a king suddenly sees a hand come from the sky and start writing on the wall. The writing says (roughly!), ‘You’re a bad king. So you will be killed.’ And later that night the king was killed. He ‘saw the writing on the wall’; that is, he knew he would die before he did die.
Example:
A: I’m going to quit my job.
B: No! Why?!
A: I know they want to fire me. I can see the writing on the wall. I’ll quit first.
Talking Point(s):
How would you translate ‘the writing’s on the wall’ into Japanese?
大人からの英会話getgo 西船橋・荻窪・津田沼・本八幡