wrong-foot

vb (tr) 1. (General Sporting Terms) sport to play a shot in such a way as to cause (one's opponent) to be off balance2. to take by surprise so as to place in an embarrassing or disadvantageous situation

wrong-foot

- To disconcert by doing something unexpected.See also related terms for unexpected.

wrong-foot

Past participle: wrong-footed
Gerund: wrong-footing

Imperative
wrong-foot
wrong-foot

Present
I wrong-foot
you wrong-foot
he/she/it wrong-foots
we wrong-foot
you wrong-foot
they wrong-foot

Preterite
I wrong-footed
you wrong-footed
he/she/it wrong-footed
we wrong-footed
you wrong-footed
they wrong-footed

Present Continuous
I am wrong-footing
you are wrong-footing
he/she/it is wrong-footing
we are wrong-footing
you are wrong-footing
they are wrong-footing

Present Perfect
I have wrong-footed
you have wrong-footed
he/she/it has wrong-footed
we have wrong-footed
you have wrong-footed
they have wrong-footed

Past Continuous
I was wrong-footing
you were wrong-footing
he/she/it was wrong-footing
we were wrong-footing
you were wrong-footing
they were wrong-footing

Past Perfect
I had wrong-footed
you had wrong-footed
he/she/it had wrong-footed
we had wrong-footed
you had wrong-footed
they had wrong-footed

Future
I will wrong-foot
you will wrong-foot
he/she/it will wrong-foot
we will wrong-foot
you will wrong-foot
they will wrong-foot

Future Perfect
I will have wrong-footed
you will have wrong-footed
he/she/it will have wrong-footed
we will have wrong-footed
you will have wrong-footed
they will have wrong-footed

Future Continuous
I will be wrong-footing
you will be wrong-footing
he/she/it will be wrong-footing
we will be wrong-footing
you will be wrong-footing
they will be wrong-footing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been wrong-footing
you have been wrong-footing
he/she/it has been wrong-footing
we have been wrong-footing
you have been wrong-footing
they have been wrong-footing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been wrong-footing
you will have been wrong-footing
he/she/it will have been wrong-footing
we will have been wrong-footing
you will have been wrong-footing
they will have been wrong-footing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been wrong-footing
you had been wrong-footing
he/she/it had been wrong-footing
we had been wrong-footing
you had been wrong-footing
they had been wrong-footing

Conditional
I would wrong-foot
you would wrong-foot
he/she/it would wrong-foot
we would wrong-foot
you would wrong-foot
they would wrong-foot

Past Conditional
I would have wrong-footed
you would have wrong-footed
he/she/it would have wrong-footed
we would have wrong-footed
you would have wrong-footed
they would have wrong-footed

Translations

wrong-foot

1. In soccer, to make a shot that makes a defender or goal keeper stumble or lose balance. The midfielder scored the critical tie-breaking goal just minutes before the end of regular time, wrong-footing the keeper with an incredible shot to the top corner of the net.2. By extension, to maneuver in such a way as to catch someone off guard, especially so as to put them in an awkward or disadvantageous position. The quick-witted journalist wrong-footed the politician several times during the interview. I'm not trying to wrong-foot the board of directors, I'm just trying to do what I think is morally correct.

wrong-foot

Deceive by moving differently from what one expects, as in He won quite a few points by wrong-footing his opponent. This expression comes from tennis, where it means to hit the ball in the direction the opponent is moving away from. It was transferred to other applications in the late 1900s, as in Susan Larson's review of a concert: "Music wrong-footing and deceiving the ear" ( Boston Globe, November 1, 1994).