Definition of Flat-footed

1. Adjective. With feet flat on the ground; not tiptoe.

Similar to: Footed

2. Adjective. Unprepared and unable to react quickly. "The new product caught their competitors flat-footed"
Similar to: Unready

3. Adjective. Having broad flat feet that usually turn outward. "A slow flat-footed walk"
Similar to: Splayfoot, Splayfooted

4. Adjective. Without reservation. "A flat-footed refusal"
Language type: Colloquialism
Similar to: Direct

Definition of Flat-footed

1. Adjective. having feet which are flat ¹

2. Adjective. (of humans) having the specific physical condition of flat feet ¹

3. Adjective. (idiomatic) unprepared to act ¹

4. Adjective. To firmly hold and maintain a decision; to stand one's ground. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Flat-footed

flaskful
flaskfuls
flasking
flaskless
flasklike
flasks
flat
flat-bellied
flat-bottom
flat-bottomed
flat-chested
flat-chestedness
flat-coated retriever
flat-earther
flat-earthers
flat-footed (current term)
flat-hat
flat-headed cat
flat-headed cats
flat-leaf parsley
flat-out
flat-rate
flat-top
flat-topped
flat-topped white aster
flat affect
flat arch
flat as a pancake
flat back four
flat bench

Literary usage of Flat-footed

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. An American Glossary by Richard Hopwood Thornton (1912)
"1846 Mr. Pickens has come out flat-footed for the Administration, a real red-hot ... 1854 A " flat-footed " Candidate for Justice of the Peace comes ..."

2. The Insect Book: A Popular Account of the Bees, Wasps, Ants, Grasshoppers by Leland Ossian Howard (1901)
"... been called "flat-footed flies." It is a small family of little flies which are also found in shady places. The hind feet of many males are very broad ..."

3. A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant: Embracing English, American, and Anglo by Charles Godfrey Leland (1889)
"flat-footed (American). There is a very interesting and accurate description of flat-footed, by RA Proctor, in his "Americanisms," published in Knowledge, ..."

4. Notes on Permanent-way Material, Plate-laying, and Points & Crossings: With by W H Cole (1890)
"... of cast-iron sleepers, and of wooden sleepers, will be dealt with further on. 32. — Double-headed, Bull-headed, and flat-footed Rails compared. ..."

5. Dictionary of Americanisms: A Glossary of Words and Phrases Usually Regarded by John Russell Bartlett (1877)
"flat-footed. Downright, resolute; firmly, resolutely. ... Mr. 1'ickens, of South Carolina, has come out flat-footed for the administration,— a real red-hot ..."

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