train wreck

American  

[trein-rek] / ˈtrɛɪnˌrɛk /

Or trainwreck

noun

1. an accident in which a train or trains are severely damaged.

2. Slang. a person who has experienced a personal failure, disaster, etc.

3. Slang. a disastrous situation, occurrence, or process.

   His football career has been a train wreck.

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train wreck British  

noun

1. an incident in which a train is severely damaged

2. informal something or someone that has suffered ruin or calamity

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Etymology

Origin of train wreck

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

The possibility of a train wreck looms.

From The Wall Street Journal

That century-old pact and the ingrained system of water rights, combined with water that costs next to nothing, Gold said, lead to “this slow-motion train wreck that is the Colorado right now.”

From Los Angeles Times

Off the coast of Vancouver Island, in the Cascadia region, scientists have now seen that "train wreck" unfolding.

From Science Daily

"Rather than shutting down all at once, the plate is ripping apart piece by piece, creating smaller microplates and new boundaries. So instead of a big train wreck, it's like watching a train slowly derail, one car at a time."

From Science Daily

Above all, we experience a pervasive miasma of helplessness as we are forced to watch this intolerable train wreck.

From Salon