look into (one's) crystal ball

look into (one's) crystal ball

To predict future events. A reference to the cliché of the glass or crystal orb used by fortune-tellers and mystics in popular culture to see into the future. Looking into her crystal ball, the renowned analyst predicts a massive economic downturn on the horizon.

See also: ball, crystal, look

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

crystal ball, look into one's

See into the future. The fortune-teller’s crystal ball probably predates the term’s appearance in print by a good many years. An early instance is in Robert Browning’s Men and Women (1855): “The sights in a magic crystal ball.”

See also: crystal, look

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer