have the drop on

present singular third person has the drop on · participle present having the drop on · participle past had the drop on · past had the drop on

1. broadlyinformaltransitiveTo possess an advantage over another person, by acting before that person.

   They had the drop on us and I had the feeling normally associated with nakedness. But they did not seem keen to take the plunge.

   1996, Jim Burtt-Smith, John French, A Drop in the Ocean: Dramatic Accounts of Aircrew Saved From the Sea, Pen and Sword, →ISBN, page 22

   2 more examples

   It was evident that Buck, after coming so near without discovering any remaining signs of life in his intended victim, was totally unprepared for the swift action which had placed him at a disadvantage. Craig unquestionably had the drop on him.

   1919, Clayton Holt Ernst, The Open Road

   I had the drop on him, I knew it would be easy to pop him . . . but System Pigs were always tougher to kill than you thought. They always turned out to be luckier than they had right to be.

   2007, Jeff Somers, The Electric Church, Orbit, →ISBN