HIS DAYS ARE NUMBERED

Idiomatic Meaning: The usefulness or life of someone or something is nearly ended; a period of time is coming to an end.

 Literal Meaning: All the days belonging to a person are assigned a number, usually those of a calendar. However days are not the kind of things one owns because the concept of a “day” is just a human construct of measurement and not something which can be possessed, only counted.

 Usage: Formal and informal, spoken and written American and British English.

 Origin: 19^th Century, British and American English – Even though this expression came into common use in the late 1800s, the bible has several versions of this concept including the Book of Job which states, “Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass, …”

 Why is this funny? In the cartoon we see a prisoner being visited by a priest. This is a common scene to movie audiences because it implies that the prisoner will soon be executed. We also see a calendar on the wall with the date Nov 24. The priest tells him that it’s almost time, meaning he only has a few days left before his execution after which he will have no more days since he will be dead. He is able to count the number of days he has left. Each of these days has a specific date, such as this particular day which is number 24. That’s why we can say “his days are numbered.”

 Sample Sentence: I just received an eviction notice that I have to be out of my apartment by the end of the month; my “days [living here] are numbered.”