the beginning of the end

beginning of the end

1. The start of a decline. We didn't realize it at the time, but not having any interest in Valentine's Day was the beginning of the end for us—we broke up a month later. We all rushed to grandpa's bedside after his nurse warned us that it was the beginning of the end.
2. The first in a series of closing events. Senior prom is really the beginning of the end—graduation isn't that far away anymore.
See also: beginning, end, of
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

the beginning of the end

the event or development to which the conclusion or failure of something can be traced.
1992 H. Norman Schwartzkopf It Doesn't Take a Hero I heard about D-Day on the radio. The announcer quoted Ohio governor John Bricker's now-famous line that this was ‘the beginning of the end of the forces of evil’.
See also: beginning, end, of
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

the beginning of the ˈend

the first sign of something ending: The quarrel was the beginning of the end for our relationship.
See also: beginning, end, of
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

beginning of the end, (this is) the

The start of a disaster (ruin, defeat, fatal illness, or the like). The term was used by Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but without the same meaning; it appears in the tangled prologue to the play within a play (Pyramus and Thisbe) in the last act. “I see the beginning of my end” occurs in an early seventeenth-century play, The Virgin Martyr, by Massinger and Dekker, here meaning death. The origin of the current cliché, however, is generally acknowledged to be a statement made by Talleyrand to Napoleon after losing the battle of Leipzig (1813), “C’est le commencement de la fin.” It was widely quoted thereafter, although Talleyrand may not have been the originator (he was known to borrow freely from others).
See also: beginning, of
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • beginning of the end
  • beginning of the end, (this is) the
  • beginning of the end, the
  • open eyes to
  • open (one's) eyes to (someone or something)
  • open eyes
  • open one's eyes
  • open someone's eyes
  • open your eyes
  • open (one's) eyes
References in periodicals archive
Critique: An impressively well written, exceptionally informative, inherently fascinating historical study, "The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic" is an extraordinary read from beginning to end.
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THIS picture shows the beginning of the end of the former Futurist Cinema.
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The battle ended in a bloody stalemate but it marked the beginning of the end of Norse power in Scotland.
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EXTRADITED Briton Christopher Tappin's guilty plea over arms dealing charges is "the beginning of the end" of the family's ordeal, his wife has said yesterday.
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Though it is perhaps the beginning of the end of the giant wind turbines.
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April 7, 2010, has become the beginning of the end of all despotic regimes on the plant, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambaev said today at the opening ceremony of the memorial to those who died during the April 7 events in Bishkek.
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He said: "It is sort of the beginning of the end of the sealing and containment phase of this operation.
'Beginning of the end' of oil spill
Supreme Court case that brought about the beginning of the end of restrictive real estate covenants, used as a legal tool of segregation in the North.
Earl B. Dickerson
FOOTBALL: Football Association chief executive Brian Barwick welcomed "the beginning of the end of the construction phase" of Wembley after securing this season's FA Cup final at the new stadium.
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Jasper's statement that if Bush and Congress allow another mass amnesty to take place, "we could be looking at the beginning of the end of our nation" is exactly the sentiment of most of us "in the know" these days.
Apathetic Americans
One can only wonder: Is this the first in a long series of budget cuts that mark the beginning of the end of diversity in French contemporary dance?
Aix and pains on the French dance scene