Tom caught Ann off guard and frightened her.
•She caught me off my guard, and my hesitation told her I was lying.
Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.
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
Guard (grappling) — Guard A type of open guard, as shown in a USMC combatives manual Classification Position Parent style … Wikipedia
catch — catch1 W1S1 [kætʃ] v past tense and past participle caught [ko:t US ko:t] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(take and hold)¦ 2¦(find/stop somebody)¦ 3¦(see somebody doing something)¦ 4¦(illness)¦ 5 catch somebody by surprise/catch somebody off guard 6 catch somebody… … Dictionary of contemporary English
catch — catch1 [ kætʃ ] (past tense and past participle caught [ kɔt ] ) verb *** ▸ 1 stop and hold something/someone ▸ 2 stop someone escaping ▸ 3 find and arrest ▸ 4 (hunt and) stop animal ▸ 5 get on public vehicle ▸ 6 discover someone doing something… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
guard — guard1 W3S3 [ga:d US ga:rd] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(person)¦ 2¦(protection)¦ 3¦(soldiers)¦ 4¦(equipment)¦ 5¦(on a train)¦ 6 on your guard 7 catch/throw somebody off guard 8 guard of honour 9 the old guard 10¦(fighting)¦ … Dictionary of contemporary English
guard — [[t]gɑ͟ː(r)d[/t]] ♦♦ guards, guarding, guarded 1) VERB If you guard a place, person, or object, you stand near them in order to watch and protect them. [V n] Gunmen guarded homes near the cemetery with shotguns... [V ed] The public was kept out… … English dictionary
off-guard — adjective not prepared or vigilant the blow caught him napping caught in an off guard moment found him off his guard • Syn: ↑napping, ↑off guard, ↑off one s guard, ↑off his guard, ↑off her guard … Useful english dictionary
guard — {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun 1 person who guards sb/sth ADJECTIVE ▪ armed, uniformed ▪ The building is protected by armed guards. ▪ border, gate (AmE), prison, securit … Collocations 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
guard — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) n. safeguard, shield, baffle; cover, protection; pad, hood; catch; protector, sentinel, watchman, sentry; escort, patrol, convoy; warder, warden; night watchman, keeper, guardian. v. t. protect, defend,… … English dictionary for students
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
