ace in the hole A trump card; something advantageous held in reserve until needed, and especially until needed to turn apparent failure into actual success. In stud poker a hole card is the card dealt face down in the first round. Since an ace is the highest and most valuable card, the player who receives an ace as his hole card has a decided advantage.

beat to the punch To get the drop on, to beat to the draw, to be a step ahead; to gain the advantage through quickness and alertness; to steal someone’s thunder; to win at oneupmanship. Webster’s Third cites W. J. Reilly’s use of this boxing metaphor:

catch a weasel asleep To gain an advantage over something due to its inattentiveness. A sleeping animal is an easy target. This expression is an older equivalent of the current to catch someone napping.

catch napping To acquire an advantage over someone through his inattentiveness. A sleeping person or animal is easily taken off guard by another person or predator. As used in the phrase, however, napping does not carry its literal meaning of ‘sleeping.’ It means simply ‘unawares, off guard, inattentive.’

get the drop on To have the advantage over someone; to be in a superior, controlling position, such that one cannot be taken unawares. Most sources cite the following quotation from Alexander K. McClure’s Three Thousand Miles through the Rocky Mountains (1869) as the first use of this colloquial American expression.

This original use referring exclusively to a fast draw may be related to at the drop of a hat. (See INSTANTANEOUSNESS.) The idea of covering a person with a gun before he can draw his own soon gave rise to the current figurative use.

get the weather gage of To obtain the advantage over; to get the better of. In the sea battles of bygone days, a ship on the weather gage, or windward, side of an adversary’s vessel would have the advantage of being better able to maneuver into a strategic position. The expression’s principal use still usually concerns war and fighting, although not necessarily of a maritime nature.

go in with good cards To have reason to expect success; to anticipate triumph. This expression is derived from a card player’s foreknowledge of victory upon being dealt an exemplary hand. The phrase maintains limited use in the United States and Great Britain.

have the ball at one’s feet To be in a strategically advantageous position; to be in the driver’s seat. In the British game of football (American soccer), whoever has the ball at his feet has the power to call the shots. This expression can be used in regard to politics, personal relations, or any area in which there are plays for power as one person or group attempts to gain control.

inside track An advantageous position granting one an edge over others; a favorable status; influence, or the power to secure favors. In racing, the inside track ‘inner side of a curved track’ is the shortest route. By the mid-19th century, this Americanism was used figuratively to refer to any position of advantage.

in the catbird seat In an advantageous position or condition; ahead of the game; also sitting in the catbird seat. This U.S. slang expression, dating at least from 1942, was popularized by baseball announcer “Red” Barber during his 1945-55 radio broadcasts of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball games.

keep one jump ahead To advance or increase before someone or something else and thus maintain an advantageous position or superior status. The exact origin of this 20th-century expression is unknown; it may come from the game of checkers in which one player jumps ‘takes possession of’ another player’s checkers—literally advancing one checker in front of another one—in order to win the game.

sitting pretty In a favorable situation or condition; at an advantage; successful; well-to-do; well-off, set. This expression has been in use since 1926.

steal a march on To gain an advantage over, to get the jump on, to be a step ahead of. This expression originally had to do with the stealthy movement of troops without the enemy’s knowledge. It still retains connotations of furtiveness or secrecy.