Fig.; the expression means that some misfortune is impending

Our company is going through a downsizing and the writing is on the wall: we'll all be cut loose

La nostra ditta si sta ridimensionando ed è scritto anche sui muri che verremo tutti messi in mobilità

His firing came as no surprise, he had seen the handwriting on the wall months before

Il suo licenziamento non è stata una sorpresa: aveva un presentimento da mesi

The police said that they were expecting a peaceful rally and not a violent mob, but the writing was on the wall months before, when the rioters started exchanging violent and explicit messages on the social media

La polizia si è giustificata dicendo che si aspettava un corteo di protesta pacifico e certamente non una folla violenta, ma c'era una chiara indicazione già da mesi, e cioè da quando i dimostranti hanno cominciato a scambiarsi messaggi violenti ed espliciti sui social

A phrase recalling an Old Testament story about the prophet Daniel (Daniel 5:5-31). While King Belshazzar was holding the Israelites captive in the foreign land of Babylon, in the sixth century B.C., a mysterious hand was seen writing on the wall of the king's palace. The king called upon Daniel, who interpreted the writing to mean that God intended both the king and his kingdom to fall. Belshazzar was slain that night and Darius of Persia took over his kingdom