The word Flat-footed and its roots

Essay by Th3xTrUtHCollege, UndergraduateA, October 2007

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To Be Caught Flat-footedBeing caught Flatfooted is a rather known phrase throughout the U.S. and it's pastimes. I have choose this word as I found it to be very entertaining to me, as I hear it quite often on the practice field whether it was directed towards me or other teammates of mine as a way to remind us to pick it up or be aware of what's happening or going to happen.

The way it was used back in the 1600's was known to be said "there have been now of late, Serpents knowne flat-footed like geese" the way I see that being broken down is that it means that he is calling the "Serpents" slow and clumsy for how they move.

Being caught flatfooted in today's world means to be slow and off guard. A common way to use the phrase flatfooted goes as follow," Unprepared and unable to react quickly; "the new product caught their competitors flat-footed"".

The Oxford American Dictionary uses it in a similar way as noted here: "Catch someone flat footed (informal) take someone by surprise: the rise of regional conflicts has caught military planners flat footed." While the actual definition of flatfooted means "Having one's feet flat on the ground: he landed with a flat-footed thud I as adv. I thudding flat footed through the lan. Informal unable to move quickly and smoothly; clumsy: getting caught in flat footed ignorance can be uncomfortable."I feel it's not as commonly used as it could be in certain situations when watching some television events or even commentary on the radio for sports events to describe a player's reaction to something. I can see the word being used more by elderly people or people with more experience in the world then say a younger teenager or child.