To be where one can/ cannot take advantage of an opportunity. The adjective right in this phrase, which dates from the second half of the nineteenth century, is used in the sense of “fitting” or “appropriate.” It is often used with reference to logistics, as H.W.V. Stuart did in Egypt after the War (1883): “Her Commander’s knack of being in the right place at the right time.” Other versions are to be in the right place at the wrong time, indicating one’s timing is bad for taking advantage of something, and the wrong place at the wrong time, for when one is hopelessly out of luck.