steal a march upon (someone or something)

To gain an unexpected or surreptitious advantage over someone or something, as by accomplishing something before, or better than, someone else. The retail business managed to steal a march upon its competitors by signing an exclusive export agreement with Europe. John and I were both trying to win Courtney's heart, but he stole a march upon me when he managed to get tickets to see Courtney's favorite band.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Constance	KAHN-stənts (English), kawn-STAWNS (French)	English, French
Tanith	-	Near Eastern Mythology
Klaus	KLOWS (German, Finnish)	German, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish
Jaakob	-	Finnish (Rare), Estonian (Rare)
Haneul	-	Korean
Sousanna	-	Biblical Greek