"accident waiting to happen" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "Attested 1930s.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "accidents waiting to happen",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "accidents waiting to happen"
      },
      "expansion": "accident waiting to happen (plural accidents waiting to happen)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "word": "disaster waiting to happen"
        },
        {
          "word": "waiting to happen"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Someone needs to repair that worn-out old bridge. It's an accident waiting to happen!",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2020 October 14, Phil McNulty, “England 0-1 Denmark: 'Harry Maguire looked devoid of confidence in Nations League loss'”, in BBC Sport",
          "text": "Maguire looked totally devoid of confidence, a lost soul and an accident waiting to happen, which it eventually did.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A thing or situation which is almost certain to eventually lead to an accident."
      ],
      "id": "en-accident_waiting_to_happen-en-noun-MsBIGy97",
      "links": [
        [
          "accident",
          "accident"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) A thing or situation which is almost certain to eventually lead to an accident."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "court disaster"
        },
        {
          "word": "-in-waiting"
        },
        {
          "word": "time bomb"
        },
        {
          "word": "trainwreck in slow motion"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "dangerous situation",
          "word": "onnettomuus, joka odottaa tapahtumistaan"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-accident waiting to happen.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b9/En-au-accident_waiting_to_happen.ogg/En-au-accident_waiting_to_happen.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/En-au-accident_waiting_to_happen.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "accident waiting to happen"
}

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "disaster waiting to happen"
    },
    {
      "word": "waiting to happen"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Attested 1930s.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "accidents waiting to happen",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "accidents waiting to happen"
      },
      "expansion": "accident waiting to happen (plural accidents waiting to happen)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "court disaster"
    },
    {
      "word": "-in-waiting"
    },
    {
      "word": "time bomb"
    },
    {
      "word": "trainwreck in slow motion"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Someone needs to repair that worn-out old bridge. It's an accident waiting to happen!",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2020 October 14, Phil McNulty, “England 0-1 Denmark: 'Harry Maguire looked devoid of confidence in Nations League loss'”, in BBC Sport",
          "text": "Maguire looked totally devoid of confidence, a lost soul and an accident waiting to happen, which it eventually did.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A thing or situation which is almost certain to eventually lead to an accident."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "accident",
          "accident"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) A thing or situation which is almost certain to eventually lead to an accident."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-accident waiting to happen.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b9/En-au-accident_waiting_to_happen.ogg/En-au-accident_waiting_to_happen.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/En-au-accident_waiting_to_happen.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "dangerous situation",
      "word": "onnettomuus, joka odottaa tapahtumistaan"
    }
  ],
  "word": "accident waiting to happen"
}