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.
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
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… … New idioms dictionary
off-guard — adjective (not before noun) not expecting something surprising or dangerous to happen, and not prepared to deal with it: catch/take sb off guard: Caught off guard, Paul blushed and looked away in embarrassment … Longman 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
Power take-off — A power take off (PTO) is a splined driveshaft, usually on a tractor or that can be used to provide power to an attachment or separate machine. It is designed to be easily connected and disconnected. The power take off allows implements to draw… … Wikipedia
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
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 — or middle guard [gärd] vt. [LME garde < the n.] 1. to keep safe from harm; watch over and protect; defend; shield 2. to watch over; specif., a) to keep from escape or trouble b) to hold in check; control; restrain c) Sports to keep (an… … English World 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
