take someone off guard

take someone off guard
catch/take (someone) off guard to surprise someone by doing or saying something they were not expecting.

One of the larger airlines caught its rivals off guard yesterday by suddenly announcing a cut in fares.

When they asked me to babysit, I was taken off guard and found myself agreeing to it.


New idioms dictionary. 2014.

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  • catch someone off guard — catch/take (someone) off guard to surprise someone by doing or saying something they were not expecting. One of the larger airlines caught its rivals off guard yesterday by suddenly announcing a cut in fares. When they asked me to babysit, I was… …   New idioms dictionary

  • take off guard — catch/take (someone) off guard to surprise someone by doing or saying something they were not expecting. One of the larger airlines caught its rivals off guard yesterday by suddenly announcing a cut in fares. When they asked me to babysit, I was… …   New idioms dictionary

  • off-guard — adj [not before noun] catch/take sb off guard to surprise someone by happening when they are not expecting something or prepared for it ▪ The sudden snow storm caught us all off guard …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • catch off guard — catch/take (someone) off guard to surprise someone by doing or saying something they were not expecting. One of the larger airlines caught its rivals off guard yesterday by suddenly announcing a cut in fares. When they asked me to babysit, I was… …   New idioms dictionary

  • off (your) guard — phrase not thinking about something, so that you might say or do something that you did not intend to catch/​take someone off (their) guard (=surprise someone): ‘Why on earth did you tell him that?’ ‘He caught me off guard!’ Thesaurus: not… …   Useful english dictionary

  • guard — guard1 [ gard ] noun *** ▸ 1 someone who protects someone/something ▸ 2 unit of soldiers/police ▸ 3 cover for protection ▸ 4 in basketball/football ▸ 5 on train ▸ + PHRASES 1. ) count someone whose job is to protect a place or person so that no… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • guard — I UK [ɡɑː(r)d] / US [ɡɑrd] noun Word forms guard : singular guard plural guards *** 1) a) [countable] someone whose job is to look after a place or person so that no one causes damage, steals anything, or escapes a prison guard uniformed border… …   English dictionary

  • guard — 1 noun 1 PERSON (C) a) someone whose job is to guard a place, person, or object in order to protect them from attack or from thieves: The guards stopped us at the gate. see also: security guard b) someone whose job is to guard prisoners and… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • off your guard — If you catch someone off their guard, they  are not ready or prepared when you do or say something.( Take somoene off their guard is also used.) …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • off — off1 [ ɔf, af ] function word *** Off can be used in the following ways: as an adverb: He waved and drove off. She took her coat off and hung it up. My house is a long way off. as a preposition: She got off the bus at the next stop. Keep off the… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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