一触即発

両国は一触即発の関係にある。

Relations between the two countries have been strained to breaking point.

先ほどの彼(かれら)らのやり取りにはひやひやしたよ。まさに一触即発の危機だったね。

I was really nervous to see how they dealt with each other just now. I guess things were touch-and-go between them.

イスラム系共和国が独立国家共同体に参加しない場合、それらの国々は独自の勢力を形成し、一触即発の民族的(てき)、宗教的(てき)な亀裂を生じかねない、とソ連、西側の消息筋は警告しています。

Soviet and Western observers have warned that if the Muslim republics do not join the commonwealth, they may from a separate group, setting up a volatile ethnic and religious split.