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Reader question: Please explain “stolen a march” in the following: An Italian restaurant in India has stolen a march on the global chain Domino’s by delivering a pizza by drone in the heart of its commercial capital Mumbai. My comments: Domino’s, being a global name, is the Goliath of the pizza business in India. The Italian restaurant named (or rather unnamed – in this paragraph) in this story is a David (or minnow) in terms of competing with the giant Domino in the local market. However, in one area of competition, the Italian restaurant has moved ahead of its big rival by delivering a pizza by drone in the commercial capital of Mumbai. In doing that, the Italian restaurant has stolen a march on its big rival – by stealthily gaining a potentially important advantage on its big rival. “Stealing a march on someone” means exactly that, gaining an unexpected advantage on someone, especially a rival. This is an expression derived from early warfare. In the early days, long before trucks, planes and drones were invented, of course, armies used soldiers’ legs to move about – hence the term foot soldiers. And when officers order soldiers to walk or move, they shout “March!” Hence the “march” in the expression “stealing a march”. By “stealing a march” on the enemy, it originally means that your army has arrived at a certain strategic point, a mountain pass, for instance earlier than does the enemy. | 
