crystal ball
/'kristlbɔ:l/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: 1. A fortune-telling tool: A crystal ball is a transparent sphere, traditionally made of glass or rock crystal, used in the practice of scrying or crystal gazing to gain visions of the future or distant events. 2. A metaphor for prediction: The term is commonly used to represent any means or method of predicting future events, often with an implication of uncertainty or guesswork.
Usage and Examples
- Literal use (fortune-telling):
- The fortune teller peered into her crystal ball and described a long journey.
- He claimed the visions in the crystal ball revealed important secrets.
- Figurative use (prediction):
- I don't have a crystal ball; I can't tell you what the stock market will do next year.
- If I had a crystal ball, I would know which team will win the championship.
Advanced Usage
- "gaze into a crystal ball": To attempt to predict the future, either literally or figuratively.
- Politicians are often asked to gaze into a crystal ball and predict the economic effects of a new policy.
- "in my crystal ball": Used humorously or sarcastically to indicate a prediction.
- Let me look in my crystal ball... I predict you'll have a busy week.
Variants and Related Words
- Crystal gazing (n): The practice of looking into a crystal ball to see visions.
- Crystal gazing is an ancient form of divination.
Synonyms
- Orb (when referring specifically to the spherical object).
- Divination tool / Scrying glass (for the literal function).
- Prophecy / Forecast (for the figurative meaning of prediction).
Related Idioms and Phrases
- "(Someone's) crystal ball is cloudy": Used to say that a prediction is uncertain or that no one can know the future.
- My crystal ball is cloudy on that issue; the outcome is too hard to guess.
- "Need a crystal ball": Expresses that predicting something is impossible without magical insight.
- You'd need a crystal ball to figure out what he's going to do next.
Noun
- a glass or crystal globe used in crystal gazing by fortunetellers