harbinger of things to come

a harbinger of things to come

Something that is indicative of what will happen or become popular in the future. I think this trend is a harbinger of things to come, but there's no way to know for sure.
See also: come, harbinger, of, thing
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

harbinger of things to come

 and portent of things to come; sign of things to come
a sample of the events that are to occur in the future. The first cuts in our budget are a harbinger of things to come. Today's visit from the auditors is a portent of things to come.
See also: come, harbinger, of, thing
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • a harbinger of things to come
  • harbinger
  • a portent of things to come
  • portent
  • be the shape of things to come
  • a sign of things to come
  • a straw will show which way the wind blows
  • he who gives fair words feeds you with an empty spoon
  • feel out of things
  • say a lot about (something)
References in periodicals archive
While it would be tempting to dismiss this as another manifestation of the determination of some Tories to reinforce the brand image of the "nasty party", could it be the harbinger of things to come? In any society there are people who would prefer not to have to work for a living but to apply such an absurd generalisation to the British workforce borders on the ridiculous.
Whether it's an accurate harbinger of things to come remains an open question.
Still, overall, Saturn hasn't had a whole lot going for it, with the mainly forgotten L-Series (though in some ways, it was a harbinger of things to come when introduced in 2000), the Ion (saved from the axe recently by $3/gallon gas), and the Relay, vehicles that don't overwhelm in the design and/or engineering categories.
It was a small but symbolic victory and a harbinger of things to come.
InstaPundit's Glenn Reynolds, who was among the bloggers banging the Rathergate drum loudest, wrote in the pages of The Australian that the episode was "just a harbinger of things to come, not just for Rather and CBS but for traditional left-leaning news operations across the world."
It was a harbinger of things to come south of the border.
But often what is happening in one state can be a harbinger of things to come in another state.
The mystery of the petroleum-slathered penguins could be a harbinger of things to come for Punta del Este.
"I'm appalled that this is how clinical decisions are being made, but I think this is just a harbinger of things to come."