on a collision course
7
6.3
- idiom
:
en curso de colisión
- We are on a collision course.
Lasers planted, nuclear explosions, something to make sure that if something is ever on a collision course for earth that we can stop it.
- Lasers planted, nuclear explosions, something to make sure that if something is ever on a collision course for earth that we can stop it.
Examples
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In the early 20th century, Imperial Russia and the Empire of Japan were on a collision course over their rival claims to territory in both Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula.
Blog text (24) -
A huge asteroid, approximately 1,000 square miles in size, is still on a collision course with Earth.
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We're on a collision course.
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You are on a collision course.
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Some of these issues could put the government on a collision course with the opposition.
Academic text (1991) -
Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course.
Academic text (2000) -
During the 1840s, two major institutions of antebellum America, the bankruptcy system and the domestic slave trade, found themselves on a collision course.
Academic text (2018) -
The ambitions of the Venetian Doge and his condottieri put Venice on a collision course with the leading power in northern Italy, the Dutchie of Milan.
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Here, a Semicompact Utility Vessel waited to take them to rendezvous with rogue asteroid 2202 Bluto, which was on a collision course with Earth.
Fiction book (2000) -
These new policies could put the government on a collision course with popular sentiment.
How Likely
7
4.9
- Informal
4
4.3
7
6.3
112
5.7
210
6.0
∞
1.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally combines 'collision' (a clash) with 'course' (a route or heading) and the preposition 'on' signals being in that state, so a learner who knows the constituent words can infer that something is heading toward a clash or serious trouble. This spatial/trajectory metaphor is direct and common across languages, making the overall meaning predictable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
On a collision course paints a clear picture: two people, groups, or vehicles are moving on the same course toward each other and are heading for a collision if nothing changes. That's why it means 'likely to result in conflict, disaster, or failure'.