“Be on the back foot”
WorkDefinición
Estar en desventaja y verse obligado a reaccionar en lugar de tomar la iniciativa.
English: To be at a disadvantage and forced to react rather than take the initiative.
Ejemplos
Ejemplos
1 / 2“The unexpected question put the speaker on the back foot.”
La pregunta inesperada puso al orador en desventaja y lo obligó a reaccionar.
Use this idiom in context
Rewrite this example in plain English without the idiom. Preserve who is speaking, the time and the meaning.
The unexpected question put the speaker on the back foot.Compare with the original example
The unexpected question put the speaker on the back foot.
La pregunta inesperada puso al orador en desventaja y lo obligó a reaccionar.
Write a two-line conversation using “Be on the back foot”. Make the situation clear enough that a reader can infer the meaning. Then replace the idiom with a plain-English explanation: does your conversation still mean the same thing?
Check the expression in a dictionaryPreguntas frecuentes
- What does "Be on the back foot" mean?
- "Be on the back foot" means estar en desventaja y verse obligado a reaccionar en lugar de tomar la iniciativa.
- How do you use "Be on the back foot" in a sentence?
- Example: "The unexpected question put the speaker on the back foot."
- Should I interpret "Be on the back foot" word for word?
- Understand the expression as a whole. Use the definition and example to learn its meaning rather than translating each word separately.