What's the origin of the phrase 'Steal a march'? This phrase derives from the military manoeuvre of moving troops secretly, in order to gain an advantage. It has been used since at least the early 18th century, when it was cited in the London Gazette, 1716: “We saw him… steal a March for our Preservation.”.

The expression “steal a march” was originally used in a military sense, meaning to “succeed in moving troops without the knowledge of the enemy,” according to the OED.

steal a march on. Gain an advantage over unexpectedly or secretly, as in Macy's stole a march on their rival department store with their Thanksgiving Day parade. This metaphoric expression comes from medieval warfare, where a march was the distance an army could travel in a day.

steal a march (third-person singular simple present steals a march, present participle stealing a march, simple past stole a march, past participle stolen a march) (intransitive, idiomatic) To gain an advantage unobserved.

If you steal a march on someone, you get an advantage over that person by acting before they do: Our rival company managed to steal a march on us by bringing out their software ahead of ours. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Surpassing in quality or number. catch.