get the drop on

present singular third person gets the drop on · participle present getting the drop on · past got the drop on · UK participle past got the drop on · US participle past gotten the drop on

1. informaltransitiveTo point one's firearm at another person, thereby gaining dominance in a situation such as a historic duel, where pistols would be held vertically until time to shoot.

   He got the drop on them and proceeded to shoot and kill them before they could fire a shot or respond.

2. broadlyinformaltransitiveTo obtain an advantage over another person, by acting before that person.

   We’re always getting the drop on our competitors because the owner really knows the business and can act fast.

   1 more example

   The petty critic in me would say the show could’ve done a better job of revealing how she got the drop on the Night King instead of just Deus Ex Arya’ing the situation, but it’s a very satisfying moment, so we’ll let it pass.

   2019 April 28, Alex McLevy, “Game Of Thrones Suffers the Fog of War in the Battle against the Dead (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 31 May 2021

   Synonyms: beat to the punch, get the jump on