brink

drive someone to the edge and drive someone to the brink

fig to drive someone almost insane; to drive someone close to doing something desperate. Your trouble with the police has driven me to the brink! The next time you are arrested, I will not get you out of jail.

See also: drive, edge

on the brink (of doing something)

Fig. on the verge of doing something; almost to the point of doing something. I was on the brink of selling my car to make ends meet when the tax refund came in the mail.

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be on the brink of doing something

to be likely to do something very soon The club's manager dismissed reports that he was on the brink of buying Peter Beardsley.

on the brink of something

if someone or something is on the brink of a situation, that situation is likely to happen soon The country is on the brink of civil war. We are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. She is on the brink of international stardom.

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on the brink of something

almost ready to do or experience something Because of competition from television news, a number of newspapers are on the brink of collapse.