flatfooted
[flat-foo t-id]
- having flatfeet.
- taking or showing an uncompromising stand in a matter; firm and explicit: a flatfooted denial.
- clumsy or plodding; maladroit: flatfooted writing.
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- catch one flatfooted, to catch one unprepared; surprise: The amount of the bill caught us flatfooted.
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Origin of flatfooted
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
asleepinattentiveunsuspectingflat-footednappingunreadyderelictnegligentunguardedunpreparedExamples from the Web for flat-footed
Contemporary Examples
There, so taken, caught in the act, flat-footed, we are obliged to make our stand.
Obama's offensive caught the Romney camp completely by surprise and left them flat-footed and slack jawed.
Historical Examples
In a little while, with flat-footed stamping, Ben Helders came in.
ChristmasZona Gale
This causes a kind of optical illusion which is favorable to the flat-footed.
Social LifeMaud C. Cooke
Or by bold combinations: down-and-out, up-state, flat-footed.
The American LanguageHenry L. Mencken
He was flat-footed, and on that account had never served in the German army.
The Witch Doctor and other Rhodesian StudiesFrank Worthington
Plan' ti grade, walking on the soles of the feet; flat-footed.
A Guide for the Study of AnimalsWorrallo Whitney
flat-footed
- having flatfoot
- British informal
- clumsy or awkward
- downright and uncompromising
- informal off guard or unawares (often in the phrase catch flat-footed)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for flat-footed
adj.
c.1600, "with flat feet;" meaning "unprepared" is from 1912, U.S. baseball slang, on notion of "not on one's toes;" earlier in U.S. colloquial use it meant "straightforwardly, downright" (1828), from notion of "standing firmly."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with flat-footed
flat-footed
see caught flat-footed.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.