caught flat-footed

1. Caught unprepared, taken by surprise, as in The reporter's question caught the President flat-footed. This usage comes from one or another sport in which a player should be on his or her toes, ready to act. [c. 1900]

Example Sentences

The startup was caught flat-footed after the viral release of ChatGPT, which gave OpenAI a giant user base and a lengthy head start on sales.

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Caught flat-footed by 9/11, the CIA requested new authorities as the only way to catch up to the threat.

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“Wall Street has learned layoffs can be very disruptive and if deal activity picks up, then you can be caught flat-footed.”

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“Whether it’s moving people or cargo or other things we can’t even conceive yet, Amazon doesn’t want to be caught flat-footed.”

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And the Senate Democrats were especially caught flat-footed because they were figuring it wouldn’t get out of the House.

Read more on Slate