see coming

present singular third person sees coming · participle present seeing coming · past saw coming · participle past seen coming

1. informalpersonor occurrenceTo notice in advance, especially to recognise as a threat or problem; to foresee.

   My pension plan went broke. I didn't see that development coming.

   4 more examples

   You're a perfect hitman; you look like a regular guy. Nobody sees you coming.

   I should've seen it coming / It should've sent me running / That's what I get for loving you-oo-oo...

   2014, Ingrid Michaelson, Trent Dabbs, busbee, “Time Machine”, in Lights Out, performed by Ingrid Michaelson

   And tech-savvy propagandists could use the technology to churn out targeted misinformation on a vast scale, distorting the political process in ways we won't see coming.

   2022 August 24, Kevin Roose, “We Need to Talk About How Good A.I. Is Getting”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   "'Effectively accelerates your own healing'... yeah, I should've seen this coming." "So I'm not burnt out?! I can use my magic again?!" "Um, I think so, but..."

   2022 September 23, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Friday, Sep 23, 2022

2. informalTo 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!

3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see coming.

   The foul ball hit me on the head. I didn't see it coming.