Big One

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]!

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

• Big Red One