caught unawares

caught unawares

To be surprised by someone or something. A: "Oh man, I was totally caught unawares when your mother showed up here this morning." B: "I figured as much when she told me that you answered the door in your robe and curlers!"
See also: caught, unawares
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

caught unaware(s)

surprised and unprepared. Sorry. You startled me when you came up behind me. I was caught unaware. The clerk was caught unawares, and the robber emptied out the cash register before the clerk could sound the alarm.
See also: caught, unaware
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

catch/take somebody unaˈwares

surprise somebody; do something when somebody does not expect it: Her sudden refusal took me unawares. You caught us unawares by coming so early.
See also: catch, somebody, take, unawares
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • catch/take somebody unawares
  • caught unaware
  • unaware
  • unawares
  • footed
  • be caught on the hop
  • flat-footed, to be caught/catch
  • be caught flat-footed
  • catch (one) by surprise
  • twist (something) off of (something)
References in classic literature
And he had been indeed caught unawares, and at the first moment when she spoke to him of her position, his heart had prompted him to beg her to leave her husband.
Captain Jones - let us call him Jones - had been caught unawares. Two orders he had given at the first sign of an utterly unforeseen onset; after that the magnitude of his mistake seemed to have overwhelmed him.
Lop-Ear, caught unawares, also hastily reversed, but did not win the protection of the trunk until after the Fire-Man had twanged the bow.
The infantry regiments that had been caught unawares in the outskirts of the wood ran out of it, the different companies getting mixed, and retreated as a disorderly crowd.
Tarzan and Numa passed between them but neither the great black-maned lion nor the man failed to keep an eye upon the beast nearer him so that they were not caught unawares when, as though at some preconcerted signal, the two cats charged simultaneously from opposite directions.
He said: "I know my picture is being taken here and I'm just pretending to be caught unawares. We head home from holiday in an hour, so this MUST be the perfect time to fill in my postcard.
I prefer to use the word preemptive so that we won't be caught unawares (should a recession occur).
I feel this is done deliberately by the concerned staff to boost their utility's revenues so that customers are caught unawares of the peak time when electricity rates are high.
But the authorities seem to have been caught unawares as their response to the havoc caused by the rains shows.
The tenants admitted to having been given a verbal notice whose deadline was July 3 but were caught unawares by Monday's eviction.
'The development may possibly cause wet spells and flood, hence the need for the people and farmers living along the bank of River Benue to take precautionary measures to avoid being caught unawares,' Sulaiman said.
The wire, which appears to have been in place for some time due to tree bark which has grown around it, could cause serious harm to a rider caught unawares.
Families preparing for the festive feasts said they've been caught unawares.
REGISTRATIONThe rush has only spawned chaos at the offices of registrar of births across the nation as officials were caught unawares by the sudden demand.Frustrated parents have been queuing for hours on end for the document, but the overloaded system keeps breaking down as the understaffed offices struggle to keep up with the surge.
As people were caught unawares by the snap, they had to buy food from hotels and restaurants at higher prices.