From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcatch somebody flat-footedcatch somebody flat-footedAmerican EnglishCATCH to surprise someone so that they cannot do something in the way they ought to SYN catch somebody off guard The president’s announcement seemed to catch Democrats flat-footed. → flat-footed
Examples from the Corpus
catch somebody flat-footed• The recent recession caught managers flat-footed and unprepared. 