Pronunciations (3)
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/ˌflætˈfʊtɪd/
Pronunciation notes
- Received-Pronunciation
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/ˈflætˌfʊtəd/
Pronunciation notes
- General-American
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/ˌflætˈfʊtəd/
Pronunciation notes
- General-American
Adjective
Of an animal: having feet which are naturally flat; (specifically) of a horse: having hoofs with soles close to the ground.
- Examples
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Bears are flat-footed animals.
[T]here have ben novv of late, Serpents knovvn flat-footed like Geeſe.
More examples (2)
Pelicans are large flat-footed Fovvls, almoſt as big as Geeſe, and their Feathers in colour like them: […]
He claimed that Jews walk flatfooted like a camel—including me.
Of a person: having the physical condition of flat feet (“a condition where the soles of the feet are in full contact with the ground, either because the arches have collapsed or because they never developed”).
- Examples
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[T]he volunteer from the 9th company was shot because he wouldn't advance and made the excuse that he had swollen legs and was flat-footed.
More examples (1)
The figure came up and squatted flatfooted on his haunches next to Patsy. In the dim glow of starlight and streetlight he saw a wrinkled face and a silvery goatee.
Hit take-off board flatfooted in a hard stamp; take-off feet under body with slight dip at knee.
More examples (1)
Most small children are flatfooted.
Of a thing (especially (rail transport) a rail): having a flat base; flat-bottomed.
Usage- broadly
- Examples
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More examples (1)
These rails, […] were of the "fish-bellied" pattern, but in practice, and as the demand increased, these were found troublesome to roll, and this difficulty led to the introduction of the flat-bottomed or "flat-footed" section of rail, combining a solid head with a flanged base.
Blunt and unsubtle; lacking finesse; clumsy.
Usage- Figurative
- Synonyms
- Examples
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The thing made a big stir in the town, too, and a good many come out flat-footed and said it was scandalous to separate the mother and the children that way.
More examples (1)
Two Saudi battalions and a Qatari armored battalion were tasked with retaking the town, which they did in a slow and flat-footed fashion, supported by ample U.S. artillery and air power.
This flatfooted sketch of how experience provides us with reasons has two nodes.
More examples (5)
I have many top ranked sectional and national level kids come to my program and I cannot even believe how flatfooted they are—not because they lack the talent—simply because no coach ever demanded the extra footwork effort from them.
It's contrived and flatfooted, and neither Loy nor Powell enjoyed making it, despite its bang-up finale: a free-for-all wedding featuring two brides (Margit and Irene), two grooms, a confused preacher, quite a few drunks from the bar next door, and a maximum of conmmotion—all crammed into Charlie's tiny trailer in a Capra-esque crowd scene.
I can't experience your experiences. What special relation to two experiences in my head have that an experience in my head lacks with respect to an experience in yours? One flat-footed answer is that they are both mine.
"The Death of Expertise" [by Tom Nichols, 2017] turns out to be an unexceptional book about an important subject. […] [I]t's more of a flat-footed compendium than an original work, pulling together examples from recent news stories while iterating arguments explored in more depth in books like Al Gore's "The Assault on Reason," Susan Jacoby's "The Age of American Unreason," Robert Hughes's "Culture of Complaint" and, of course, Richard Hofstadter's 1963 classic, "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life."
[…] [Ian] McEwan's narrator, […] explicitly sets out his world, overexplains the historical context and never turns down a chance to offer an essayistic digression. To my taste, this is a flat-footed way of doing sci-fi.
Unprepared, unready.
Usage- US usage
- Figurative
- Examples
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They were caught flat-footed when Clancy filed to enter the race.
To those who are younger, perhaps still building a career, I say to you, plan for it! No one should be caught flatfooted by the lengthening of middle age.
More examples (3)
Caught mentally flatfooted, Anne couldn't think of a response. She was guilty as charged. She didn't deserve to defend herself.
In contrast, as the crisis unfolded, India stood flatfooted, only reacting after the damage was done.
Eleven minutes later, United doubled their lead as City defender Rico Lewis was caught flat-footed, allowing Dorgu to nip in front of him and turn home Matheus Cunha's cut-back.
Direct, downright, straightforward; also, holding firmly to and maintaining a decision; standing one's ground.
Usage- Dated
- Figurative
- Informal
- Examples
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More examples (1)
Now, you need'nt talk 'bout your shoes, kase you see I'm barefooted, I haint got no shoes, tis true, but I stand flat-footed and damn the man who can move me one inch—do you hear that Wolfe!
All these remarks are in strict confidence, and I write in this way to urge you [Charles Follen McKim] to be explicit and flat-footed in your wishes.
More examples (1)
Proficient drinkers could spill out an ounce, or an ounce and a half, or two, from the neck of a Solo Soda bottle in the dark, measured to the very dram, refill it with corn whisky, turn it upside down with the thumb placed carefully over the bottle's lip—for a good mix, and luck—and drink it down, flatfooted.
Adjective
with feet flat on the ground; not tiptoe
- Synonyms
unprepared and unable to react quickly
- Synonyms
- Examples
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the new product caught their competitors flat-footed
having broad flat feet that usually turn outward
- Synonyms
- Examples
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a slow flat-footed walk
forthright and explicit
- Synonyms
- Examples
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a flat-footed refusal