wrong-foot

verb

1. sport to play a shot in such a way as to cause (one's opponent) to be off balance
2. to take by surprise so as to place in an embarrassing or disadvantageous situation

Idioms and Phrases

Deceive by moving differently from what one expects, as in He won quite a few points by wrong-footing his opponent . This expression comes from tennis, where it means to hit the ball in the direction the opponent is moving away from. It was transferred to other applications in the late 1900s, as in Susan Larson's review of a concert: “Music wrong-footing and deceiving the ear” ( Boston Globe , November 1, 1994).

Example Sentences

There was more than an element of fortune to Olympiakos' fourth as Hezze's speculative effort flicked off the back of Ezri Konsa to wrong-foot Olsen.

From BBC

Referee Jarred Gillett awarded City a free-kick despite Foden only appearing to slip, Brighton seeing insult added to injury as his resulting set-piece strike took a deflection off Pascal Gross to wrong-foot keeper Jason Steele.

From BBC

Collecting a high ball just past the halfway line, the England midfielder shook off the attention of Rodri with a deft touch to wrong-foot his opponent.

From Seattle Times

Mullin, League Two's player of the month for March, wrapped up an impressive first half when after O'Connor's corner was not cleared, saw his shot take a deflection to wrong-foot keeper Vincente Reyes.

From BBC

Madrid equalized after a shot from outside the area by Eduardo Camavinga deflected off Dias to wrong-foot City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.

From Seattle Times