an accident waiting to happen
早晚会出事
无论是在日常生活中，还是在工作中，当我们发现一些潜在的隐患后，比如设备老化、操作不规范等，就会说这东西“早晚会出事”，而这在英语中就可以用习语 an accident waiting to happen 来表示，多指一种潜在的灾难性情况，通常由疏忽或错误的程序引起，比如：
- 老化的核反应堆早晚会出事故。
An ageing nuclear reactor is an accident waiting to happen. - 几个月以来，当地居民一直在抱怨这栋楼很不安全，早晚会出事。
For many months local residents had been complaining that the building was unsafe, and that it was an accident waiting to happen.
