English

Train wreck at Montparnasse Station, Paris, France, 1895.

Alternative forms

• train-wreck
• trainwreck

Noun

train wreck ‎(plural train wrecks)

1. The aftermath of a train crash.
2. (idiomatic) A disaster, especially one which is large in scale and readily seen by public observers.
   • 1986, Hugh Sidey, "The Presidency: Colliding with Realities," Time, 1 Sept.:

     There is a feeling in Washington that we are gathering at the side of the track to watch a gigantic economic train wreck one of these days.

   • 2007, Mel Odom, Blood Evidence, ISBN 9781414303079, p. 168:

     "Your personal life has been, and is, a train wreck."

Usage notes

• In UK English, train crash would be preferred for the literal sense, and car crash for the metaphorical sense.

Synonyms

• (literal train wreck): (hobo slang) prairie meet, (railroad jargon) cornfield meet
• (disaster): catastrophe

Translations

References

• train wreck (slang): When the parts in an ensemble "collide" because the musicians are not playing together. Hal Leonard Pocket Music Dictionary, p. 122.
• Train wreck: in jazz, when everything comes off the rails - someone misses a repeat, skips the bridge, and so on. Dolmetsch Online.