backfoot
verbEtymology From back + foot.
1
To put on the defensive; to put off balance.
- Hamlet is bitter, evasive, now backfooting them, now attacking, now genial - their job isn't going to be easy.1996, Kenneth Branagh, “The Film diaries”, in Hamlet, page 188:
- Koizumi's government has been backfooted by the indictment of Horie, the former CEO of Livedoor Co., on charges of violating securities regulations2006 February 21, “Japan opposition gears up for showdown on Livedoor”, in Boston Globe:
- Related terms
- on the back foot, on the back footing