Example: Il a pris de court ses adversaires avec une stratégie inattendue.
Definition
"Prendre de court" means to catch someone by surprise or to act before they are prepared, often resulting in an advantage. For example, in the phrase 'Il a pris de court ses adversaires avec une stratégie inattendue,' it means he surprised his opponents with an unexpected strategy.
Translations
To catch off guard
Coger por sorpresa
Iemand overvallen
Agafar desprevingut
Jemanden überraschen
Etymology
The expression "prendre de court" originates from French, literally meaning 'to take short.' It likely comes from the idea of catching someone off guard or before they have enough room or time to react fully, much like being 'short' of preparation. Did you know this phrase vividly conveys the suddenness of the action?
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"Prendre de court" appears in the Vocaplus list "", containing 105 commonly used expressions.
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To catch off guard