caught flat-footed

Idioms  

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]

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Example Sentences

Caught flat-footed by the success of that video app, then owned by ByteDance, Instagram launched Reels in August 2020.

From The Wall Street Journal

Caught flat-footed, Google declared its own “code red” that year as it raced to catch up.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

From The Wall Street Journal

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

From The Wall Street Journal