1.
to be beaten to it; to be outdone; to have someone get there first
Describes the experience of being surpassed or preempted by someone else who achieves something before you do. The passive form of 先を越す (to get ahead of).
ライバルに先を越された。
I was beaten to it by my rival.
告白しようと思っていたのに、友人に先を越された。
I was going to confess my feelings, but my friend beat me to it.
同じアイデアを考えていたが、他社に先を越されて商品化された。
We had been thinking of the same idea, but another company beat us to it and brought the product to market.
The passive form of 先を越す (to get ahead of, to outdo). Expresses frustration or disappointment at having been preempted by someone else.
ACTIVE FORM:
先を越す means "to get ahead of" from the agent's perspective:
- ライバルの先を越す: to get ahead of one's rival
COMMON PATTERNS:
- 〜に先を越される: to be beaten to it by ~
- 先を越されまいと: determined not to be outdone
- 先を越された悔しさ: the frustration of being beaten to it
SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS:
- 出し抜かれる: to be outsmarted, outmaneuvered — implies cunning or trickery
- 追い越される: to be overtaken — more literal, often physical (passing in a race or on a road)
- 後塵を拝する: to fall behind, to eat someone's dust — more literary and formal