Details to come.

On one site I saw a headline "Three Marines killed, seven wounded when rocket-propelled grenade explodes during exercise in Iraq. Details to come."

This phrase "details to come" makes no sense when translated literally. So does that mean that "details" are expected to appear soon?

This is the typical tag line on the BBC webpage. It is shorthand for:

"We will tell you more details soon".

The other phrase I can think of using "to come" is "years to come" meaning "in a few years". Eg.

In years to come, I'll look back at what I did this afternoon and laugh!

Perhaps in the phrase "such-and-such to come," "to come" is a simplification of "is/are coming." Some variation that got started way back in the day. So, if you read that as, "details are coming," it makes a lot more sense.

I'd say the usage (usually rare) implies "will be" or "should be". Some examples:

Details to come. (Details will be coming.)

Apartment to lease. (Apartments will be leased.)

Some features to note: (Some features that should be noted:)


Note that these can be expanded into fuller sentences:


We have more details to come.

I have an apartment to lease.

Here are some features to note:


It's a not-often-used construction that is passive. There is a similar usage, with the infinitive only, followed by a colon and then a list of objects/details:

To come: details, facts, and figures.

To lease: 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments

To note: you should complete the following...