blindside

Etymology

blind + side

noun

1. (automotive) A driver's field of blindness around an automobile; the side areas behind the driver.
2. (rail transport) A tram/train driver's field of blindness around a tram (trolley/streetcar) or a train; the side areas behind the tram/train driver.
3. (figurative) A person's weak point.
4. (rugby) The space on the side of the pitch with the shorter distance between the breakdown/set piece and the touchline; compare openside.
5. (rugby union) The blindside flanker, a position in rugby union, usually number 6.
   The blindside packs down at the scrum on the blindside.
   However, after an inside pass from Moody to Tom Croft and a surge from the England blind-side, number eight James Haskell was eventually pinged from in front of the posts for not releasing. September 24, 2011, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 67-3 Romania”, in BBC Sport

verb

1. (transitive) To attack (a person) on his or her blind side.
   The robbers crept out of the forest and blindsided the traveller.
2. (transitive, figurative, informal) To catch off guard; to take by surprise.
   He had completed his plan to develop a new office building, but was blindsided by the sudden drop in real estate values.
   Mr. Hassan offered Ms. Huynh $20 million in Google stock — less than 10 percent of his shares — and half of three Bay Area real estate properties: houses in Palo Alto and San Francisco, and a commercial building in Menlo Park. She felt blindsided and hurt. She refused. 2021-08-20, Daisuke Wakabayashi, “Who Gets the L.L.C.? Inside a Silicon Valley Billionaire’s Divorce.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
   But when they did arrive at 9am on Thursday, they were still able to blindside the Chelsea hierarchy. On Wednesday, they had certainly not anticipated the imposition of them the following morning. March 11 2022, David Hytner, “Chelsea are in crisis but there is no will to leave club on their knees”, in The Guardian