caught flat-footed

Idioms and Phrases

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

On Sunday the publisher was caught flat-footed and scrambling to respond to the leak.

From The Daily Beast

Knowing that, why have the Republican presidential primary candidates been caught flat-footed every time?

From The Daily Beast

Labor was caught flat-footed, and didn't want to be seen defending asylum seekers.

From The Daily Beast

The little bunt had proved so totally unexpected that the Belden players were caught flat-footed.

From Project Gutenberg

Our big mistake was to be caught flat-footed way back at the start.

From Project Gutenberg