wrong-foot

verb

1. sport to play a shot in such a way as to cause (one's opponent) to be off balance
2. to take by surprise so as to place in an embarrassing or disadvantageous situation

Idioms and Phrases

Deceive by moving differently from what one expects, as in He won quite a few points by wrong-footing his opponent . This expression comes from tennis, where it means to hit the ball in the direction the opponent is moving away from. It was transferred to other applications in the late 1900s, as in Susan Larson's review of a concert: “Music wrong-footing and deceiving the ear” ( Boston Globe , November 1, 1994).

Example Sentences

Planning to hitchhike across the country, Sal gets off on the wrong foot.

From The Daily Beast

My intricate relationship with Zionism started on the wrong foot.

From The Daily Beast

He said Obama got off on the wrong foot by systematically intimidating industries, from travel to insurance to oil and gas.

From The Daily Beast

Grant Wahl on how Tom Cruise and Will Smith got Becks started on the wrong foot.

From The Daily Beast

Her betrothed tried to mount with the wrong foot according to his invariable custom.

From Project Gutenberg

You've hit the idea pretty well, boss—only you've got the wrong boot on the wrong foot.

From Project Gutenberg

But he had done it again: he had put the shoe on the wrong foot—he, Smith, stood up for judgment, not the school.

From Project Gutenberg

"You turned the corner with the wrong foot," said his father.

From Project Gutenberg

I took it bashfully, feeling I had begun my American career on the wrong foot.

From Project Gutenberg