on the back foot

English

Alternative forms

• on the back footing

Adjective

on the back foot

1. (idiomatic) In a defensive posture; off-balance.
   • 2003, Val McDermid, The distant echo, page 184:

     Lawson wasn't going to be put on the back foot by Brian Duff. "I don't know what you're on about. But I've kept my nose clean for over twenty years.

   • 2005, Clare Naylor; Mimi Hare, The Second Assistant: A Tale from the Bottom of the Hollywood Ladder‎, page 289:

     Now I was the one on the back foot. He liked me. "Really?" "I'd like to take you out when we're back in LA"

   • 2008, Sue Limb, Zoe & Chloe on the Prowl‎, page 112:

     She was on the back foot now. I had taken the initiative good and proper.

Antonyms

• on the front foot

Related terms

• backfoot