Word-Built World: writing on the wall

Belshazzar’s feast (Daniel 5:5), 1636. Art: Rembrandt

A.Word.A.Daywith Anu Garg

writing on the wall

PRONUNCIATION:

(RY-ting ahn thuh WAWL) 

MEANING:

noun: A clear sign of impending decline or disaster.

ETYMOLOGY:

From write, from Old English writan + wall, from Old English weall, from Latin vallum (rampart), from vallus (stake). Earliest documented use: 1663.

NOTES:

In the Biblical story told in Daniel 5, the haughty King Belshazzar throws a big party. While everyone is feasting, a disembodied hand appears and writes a warning on the wall. The term is also used in the form handwriting on the wall.
The moral of the story: At a party, read the room. Also, read the doom.

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