on the front foot
1
7.0
- idiom
- UK
:
en una posición ventajosa
- To succeed in business, you must always be on the front foot, anticipating market changes before your competitors do.
Keep focus, keep on the job to do and keep on the front foot, keep proactive.
- Keep focus, keep on the job to do and keep on the front foot, keep proactive.
- So be on the front foot with disrupting, Don't wait for others to disrupt you and your business model.
Examples
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In defiance of the paltry quantity of small arms coming from Washington's allies and their refusal to supply heavy weapons, the Free Syrian Army went on the front foot in Damascus and Aleppo.
Blog text (21) -
Stock markets in Europe's largest countries started Monday on the front foot, but soon gave away their gains as investors reacted cautiously to the weekend events in Greece and a negative report about bad debts at Spanish banks.
Blog text (22) -
Keep focus, keep on the job to do and keep on the front foot, keep proactive.
-
Sweden was now on the front foot, and with the way the game was going, you felt England would be content with a draw.
Blog text (18) -
Ultimately, working with social media (rather than hiding from it) puts you on the front foot of managing your reputation.
Blog text (27) -
This is a massive opportunity for organizations to go on the front foot, demonstrating to investors that they walk the talk on 'our people are our greatest asset.'
Academic text (2014) -
We are a team that gets on the front foot and tries to keep our opponents pinned in for most of the match, and I think you saw that again tonight.
Blog text (3) -
So be on the front foot with disrupting, Don't wait for others to disrupt you and your business model.
-
You've got a team full of technical players that's asking, begging to go and play on the front foot and what wins tournaments, getting after it in it, right?
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The team's strategy was to stay on the front foot throughout the match, consistently pressuring their opponents for the entire game.
Synonyms
51
4.3
In a place where people notice it first
24
2.7
In a first position that gives an advantage in a competition
10
3.4
Ahead of others in a race, game, or area of work
Antonyms
How Proactive
248
3.6
42
4.2
- UK
1
7.0
68
4.6
- Specialized
2
6.1
111
3.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The expression relies on a spatial/sports metaphor (being 'on the front foot' = positioned forward), so a learner who knows 'on', 'front' and 'foot' can plausibly infer a sense of being forward or advantaged. However, the specific pragmatic meaning 'proactive/assertive/taking the initiative' is a metaphorical extension (often sports-derived) and not fully predictable without exposure, so it is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The idiom on the front foot comes from sports. Imagine a player stepping forward so their front foot is ahead and they can attack or take control. That's why on the front foot means 'proactive' or 'taking the initiative'.