on the back foot
- defensiveProtective or easily threatened
- retreatingMoving back from advance
- corneredUnable to flee
- pressuredUrged with insistence
- reactiveTending to respond
scrambling · backpedaling · vulnerable · outmaneuvered · struggling · reeling · overwhelmed · disadvantaged · off-balance · flustered · rattled · caught out · blindsided · wrong-footed · under siege · pinned · stumbling · desperate
- Cricket Idiomssticky wicket, not cricket, bowled over, stumped, on the front foot
- unreadyunprepared, ill-prepared, ill-equipped, unready, not ready
- cricketbatsman, bowler, wicket, bat, ball
defensive vs. offensive position
on the back footon the front foot
on the offensive · attacking · taking the initiative · advancing · seizing the initiative
control and confidence
on the back footin control
Managing with authority
in the driver's seat · holding all the cards · on the front foot · riding high · ascendant