an accident waiting to happen

an accident waiting to happen
7. an accident waiting to happen 必然会发生的事故；迟早会发生的意外
- A lot of the city's older buildings are accidents waiting to happen. 城里的许多老建筑迟早都会出问题。
- Children treat the road as a playground. It's an accident waiting to happen. 孩子们拿马路当运动场, 这样迟早会出事儿。
8. by accident
(not deliberately) 无意地
- He knocked over the jug by accident. 他无意中碰倒了罐子。
- The burglar killed him by accident. 入室窃贼失手杀死了他。
(by chance) 偶然地；意外地
- I only came to Liverpool by accident. 我只是偶尔来利物浦一次。
- She discovered the problem by accident. 她意外发现了这个问题。
See: accident

- 英语>简体中文, 英汉大词典