be on to

1.
British EnglishAmerican Englishinformalneutral
- To be aware of someone’s deception, wrongdoing, or secret and likely to expose or apprehend them.
- To have discovered that someone is engaged in something suspicious or illicit and to be closing in on confirmation.
2.
British EnglishAmerican Englishinformalneutral
- To be close to discovering an important fact, solution, or useful idea; to be making a promising intellectual or investigative advance.
- To suspect that a particular line of inquiry or hypothesis is correct and to be pursuing it further.
3.
British EnglishAmerican Englishneutral
- To proceed to the next place, stage, task, or topic; to move on from one location or matter to another.
- To be scheduled or queuing to continue onward to a subsequent destination or undertaking.

Examples:

EN: - You're supposed to be on to Lisbon.
ES: - Se supone que vas hacia Lisboa.
EN: Looks as if you might be on to something, Tom.
ES: Parece que has dado con algo, Tom.
EN: Why, if anything went wrong, the police would be on to us in no time.
ES: Si algo sale mal, la policía estaría sobre nosotros en menos de lo que canta un gallo.
EN: They'll be on to him in a few minutes.
ES: Lo encontrarán enseguida.
EN: Holding me by the feet in my plane, while I photographed the sun, when I see was on the Leipziger Strasse while it should be on to Friedrich Strasse.
ES: Sosteniéndome por los pies a mi bombardero mientras fotografiaba el sol, cuando veo que estaba sobre la Leipziger Strasse cuando teníamos que estar sobre la Friedrich Strasse.
EN: Nicole's is out, they'd be on to you at once.
ES: La de Nicole está descartada. Te descubrirían inmediatamente.
EN: I never dreamt they'd be on to it so soon.
ES: Nunca soñé que lo descubrirían tan rápido.
EN: He'll be on to you next. He was always my friend.
ES: Pronto irá por ti.
EN: We may be on to it, Robin.
ES: Podemos estar en ello, Robin.
EN: We may be on to something. Inspector, look at this.
ES: Inspector, mire esto.
EN: You seem to be on to their habits.
ES: Parece que te llevas bien con ellos.
EN: Before they missed him, we'd be on to the next town.
ES: Antes de que lo echaran de menos, ya estábamos en la siguiente ciudad.
EN: You'll be on to men's ready-wear if Murchison has his way.
ES: Te vestirás de paisano si Murchison te denuncia.
EN: You may really be on to something. You have to take the next step.
ES: Es probable que eso sea cierto, pero le falta dar un paso más.
EN: - We've had it, they'll be on to us
ES: - Tenemos la mierda al cuello.

Language: en

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Examples: