accident waiting to happen
A thing or situation which is almost certain to eventually lead to an accident.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“That broken ladder is an accident waiting to happen.”
“This dark, icy road is an accident waiting to happen.”
“Your loose shoelaces are an accident waiting to happen.”
“The factory floor was cluttered with loose wires and heavy boxes, making it an accident waiting to happen.”
“Leaving your toddler alone in a kitchen full of sharp knives is an accident waiting to happen.”
“The busy intersection has no traffic lights or signs, so it is an accident waiting to happen.”
“The old bridge has several rusted supports and loose planks, so the engineers warned the city that the structure is an accident waiting to happen.”
“By ignoring the structural cracks in the foundation for so many years, the landlord allowed the building to become an accident waiting to happen.”
The phrase is first recorded in the 1930s. It functions as a routine compound, joining the Middle English *accident*, via Old French from Latin *accidens*, with the present participle of the Middle English *happen*, derived from the noun *hap*.
- 01
accident of birth
A fact, situation, or personal characteristic, which may be desirable or undesirable, resulting from the circumstances into which a person was born, and which is therefore entirely beyond their control.
- 02
as it happens
By coincidence, incidentally.
- 03
couldn't happen to a nicer
Sarcastically asserts that those in question thoroughly deserve their fate.
- 04
happen along
To arrive by chance; to occur by happenstance.
- 05
have an accident
To urinate or defecate somewhere other than a toilet.
- 06
make happen
To realize, to cause or bring about a thing.
- 07
ready and waiting
Already prepared for action or use.
- 08
waiting game
A strategy or course of action in which one or more parties refrain from direct action until circumstances change in their favor.
Last updated August 10, 2026