-in-waiting

in waiting English Suffix -in-waiting Depending on the expected arrival of a result, confirmation, etc. en 1999 w:David Foster Wallace Brief Interviews with Hideous Men Suicide as a Sort of Present Little, Brown and Company Throughout her adolescence, authorities... commented that the young mother-in-waiting 'seem[ed] to have very, very high expectations of [her]self,' and... there was no failing to discern in them that slight unmistakable note of approval... and at any rate the future mother felt (for the moment) approved. About to happen; bound to happen. en Choosing such an unqualified person to operate the machine is an accident-in-waiting. Attendant to a royal figure. Derived terms en baroness-in-waiting en groom-in-waiting en lady-in-waiting en maid-in-waiting en lord-in-waiting See also en accident waiting to happen en wait in the wings Further reading in waiting in waiting