see coming
Verb
Meaning
(informal, of a thing, person, or occurrence) To notice in advance, especially to recognise as a threat or problem; to foresee.
The foul ball hit me on the head. I didn't see it coming.
You're a perfect hitman; you look like a regular guy. Nobody sees you coming.
My pension plan went broke. I didn't see that development coming.
(informal, of a person) To recognise (someone) as a potential victim to swindle or otherwise deceive.
You were charged $1,000 for a car wash? They must have seen you coming!
Synonyms
Examples
The knock-out punch is always the one you never see coming.
What I see coming is a gigantic slaughterhouse, a molecular Auschwitz, in which valuable enzymes, hormones, and so on will be extracted instead of gold teeth.
It is the things you cannot see coming that are strong enough to kill you.
The new technologies that we see coming will have major benefits that will greatly alleviate human suffering.
Things never go the way you expect them to. That's both the joy and frustration in life. I'm finding as I get older that I don't mind, though. It's the surprises that tickle me the most, the things you don't see coming.
I'm obsessed with giving the audience something they don't see coming.