Big One

See also: big one

English

Noun

Big One

2. (seismology, colloquial, usually with the) A hypothetical massive earthquake somewhere along the Pacific coast of North America, but especially one projected to cause catastrophic damage to a major city such as Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, or Los Angeles.
4. (colloquial, by extension) Any other hypothetical event with the potential to be far more devastating than previous events of the same type.

   Coordinate term: big daddy

   Near-synonym: mother of all

   • 1972, Sanford and Son, spoken by Fred G. Sanford (Redd Foxx (John Elroy Sanford)):

     Oh, it's the worst one, this is the Big One [heart attack]! I'm dyin! You hear that, Elizabeth, I'm comin to join ya, honey [in Heaven]!

Coordinate terms

• big two, Big Three, Big Four, big five, big six, big eight

See also

• Big Red One