flatfooted

Adjective

flat-footed (comparative more flat-footed, superlative most flat-footed)

1. Of an animal: having feet which are naturally flat; (specifically) of a horse: having hoofs with soles close to the ground.
   • Bears are flat-footed animals.
2. 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”).
   • [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.1973, Jaroslav Hašek, “New Sufferings”, in Cecil Parrott, transl., The Good Soldier Švejk and His Fortunes in the World War […], London: Penguin Books in association with William Heinemann, →ISBN...
3. (broadly) Of a thing (especially (rail transport) a rail): having a flat base; flat-bottomed.
   • 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.1889, George Findlay, “Permanent Way”, in The Working and Management of an English Railway. […], 2nd edition, London: Whittaker & Co, […]; George Bell & Sons, […], →OCLC, page 42
4. (figuratively) Blunt and unsubtle; lacking finesse; clumsy.
   • 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.1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter XXVII, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, page 276

   Synonyms:

   maladroit

5. (US, figuratively) Unprepared, unready.
   • They were caught flat-footed when Clancy filed to enter the race.
6. (dated, figuratively, informal) Direct, downright, straightforward; also, holding firmly to and maintaining a decision; standing one's ground.
   • 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!1834 January, [James Strange French], “Buck Horn Tavern, a Scene in the West”, in The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, volume III, number 1, New York, N.Y.: Clark and Edson, →OCLC, page 35

Verb

flatfoot (third-person singular simple present flatfoots, present participle flatfooting, simple past and past participle flatfooted)

1. To walk around in the course of work, especially when investigating.
   • And even if they didn't know about her they might know this was his old neighborhood and go flatfooting around asking.1936, John Thomas McIntyre, Steps going down, page 19
2. To dance in the style of Appalachian clogging.
   • Casewell, George, and Steve had the crowd flatfooting across the floor in no time.2014, Sarah Loudin Thomas, Appalachian Serenade (Appalachian Blessings): A Novella, →ISBN
3. To gulp an entire drink (bottle, glass, can, etc.) without pausing between swallows.
   • “Thanks, Kate,” Bill Bingley said, laying down a screw gun and flatfooting the Coke she handed him.2012, Dana Stabenow -, A Grave Denied, →ISBN
4. To perform an action inefficiently or awkwardly.
5. To wrong-foot.
   • In the event they lacked a proper midfield bolt, with Toni Kroos and Sami Khedira huffing around in pursuit of the whizzing green machine. The centre-backs looked flustered, left to deal with three on two as Mexico broke. Löw’s 4-2-3-1 seemed antiquated and creaky, with the old World Cup shark...2018 June 17, Barney Ronay, “Mexico’s Hirving Lozano stuns world champions Germany for brilliant win”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived...

See all 9 meanings of flatfoot