wilderness

(lone) voice in the wilderness

One who expresses an unpopular opinion or idea. She felt like a voice in the wilderness as she tried to warn others about the impending economic collapse. He was a lone voice in the wilderness as he tried to expose the vast corruption within the organization.
See also: voice, wilderness

in the wilderness

Lacking one's former power or influence. (Used especially in reference to politicians.) The former party leader has been in the wilderness ever since he crossed party lines to support the economic recovery bill in the senate.
See also: wilderness

voice crying in the wilderness

One who expresses an unpopular opinion or idea. He was a voice crying in the wilderness as he tried to expose the vast corruption within the organization. She felt like a voice crying in the wilderness as she tried to warn others about the impending economic collapse.
See also: crying, voice, wilderness
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

in the wilderness

BRITISH, JOURNALISM
COMMON A person or organization's time in the wilderness is a period when they do not have an important role to play and people are not interested in them. He is delighted to get another chance to represent his country after a period in the wilderness. After 10 years in the political wilderness the Danish Labour Party appeared yesterday to be on the verge of returning to power.
See also: wilderness

a voice crying in the wilderness

or

a lone voice in the wilderness

If you describe someone as a voice crying in the wilderness or a lone voice in the wilderness, you mean that they are telling people about the dangers in an important situation or the truth about it, but nobody is paying any attention. Until recently, Dr Seddon's was a voice crying in the wilderness. But people are starting to listen to what he has to say. For years, he was a lone voice in the wilderness, and a lot of it came across as self-serving. But I'll tell you, the man was right. Note: This is from the Bible, and refers to John the Baptist who preached the coming of the Messiah but was often ignored. (Matthew 3:3)
See also: crying, voice, wilderness
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

a voice in the wilderness

an unheeded advocate of reform.
The phrase was originally used with reference to the words of John the Baptist, who proclaimed the coming of the Messiah: ‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness’ (John 1:23).
See also: voice, wilderness
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

a voice (crying) in the ˈwilderness

a warning of a danger given by a person or small group which most people do not pay any attention to: A few scientists in the early 1980s were warning of the dangers of AIDS but nobody took them seriously. They were just a voice in the wilderness.This comes from a description of John the Baptist in the Bible.
See also: voice, wilderness

in the ˈwilderness

(of politicians) no longer having power, influence or importance because they no longer hold high office: After a few years in the wilderness she was allowed to return to a job in the government.
See also: wilderness
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • (lone) voice in the wilderness
  • a voice in the wilderness
  • a change of heart
  • appear to
  • a ripple effect
  • a mystery to (one)
  • a plain Jane
  • a shoulder to cry on
  • a hidden agenda
  • a turn of phrase
References in periodicals archive
Is it a call to the Christian church, to return to the wilderness, experience our call anew, and be prepared to be God's beacon people as God refines us?
Second Sunday in Advent: December 10, 2006
Leal wishes to address the growing ecological crisis in the West through a study of the wilderness theme in the Hebrew Bible and its reflex in New Testament literature.
Wilderness in the Bible: Toward a Theology of Wilderness
Wilderness Inquiry (WI) is offering six-day canoe trips to the 10,000 Islands in southwest Florida.
Canoe the Everglades
The six research questions guiding this study asked if there was indeed a self-concept change after a wilderness experience.
Understanding parental expectations and participants' experiences research notes
Noting that wilderness journeys were central to the spiritual lives of Moses, Jesus and the prophet Muhammad, the National Council of Churches said it would dedicate 2006 to protecting wilderness areas.
Church council focuses on protecting wilderness
The Sadie Cove Wilderness Lodge, only 10 miles as the crow flies from the fishing village of Homer, was worlds away from the rat race I was leaving behind for a week.
Treading lightly in Alaska: living it up in Sadie Cove
WE ALL KNOW MOTORS ARE FORBIDDEN IN WILDERNESS AREAS.
WILDERNESS & WHEELS
Synopsis: The lush Alpine Lakes Wilderness in Washington's Central Cascades contains a plethora of trails, rugged glacier-carved mountains, and more than 700 sparkling alpine lakes and ponds.
Alpine Lakes Wilderness: The Complete Hiking Guide
Moses was then taken into God's service, and was destined to lead God's people from the land of bondage to a future of freedom, from the wilderness to the Promised Land.
I am the living God
Khavan dela Cruz, Achinette Villamor, Jerry Gracio, Balangiga: Howling Wilderness
66th FAMAS full list of nominees
Focusing on the delivery of patient-centered care in the wilderness, instructors and practitioners of emergency medicine introduce many innovations to wilderness medicine, emergency medical services (EMS), and the conjoined subspecialty wilderness EMS (WEMS).
Wilderness EMS (online access included)
Abstract: In this essay, I examine how Tracy Ross and Cheryl Strayed, while seemingly echoing the American wilderness tradition, deviate from male-dominated wilderness discourse when they recollect their hiking experiences in the wilderness.
"Out of the Shadow": Wilderness Therapy in The Source of All Things and Wild
Today, polls consistently show overwhelming bipartisan support among Oregon voters for protecting more federal public lands as wilderness. Even in rural Oregon, a majority wants more wilderness protected.
Weaver tirelessly fought for wilderness areas
Currently, medical research in the wilderness helps to expand our understanding of conditions as diverse as congenital heart disease, pulmonary hypertension, sepsis, critical illness, and diabetes.
Growing wilderness and expedition medicine education in southern Africa