caught flat-footed

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]

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Hyeon-Jeong	hyun-jung	Korean
Bjarne	BYAHR-ne (Danish)	Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
AngÉLa	-	Hungarian
Anaitis	-	Persian Mythology (Hellenized)
Gervaise	zher-VEZ	French (Rare)
Gail	[geil]