student asking question

What does “have the drop on someone” mean?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

“Have the drop on someone” is an idiom with two meanings, and both meanings are applicable in this context. The first meaning is to point a firearm (like a gun) at someone, giving dominance over the situation to the person with the firearm. The second meaning is to have an advantage over another person because you took action about something before them. This idiom, with either meaning, is not very commonly used.

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