off-guard
- s not prepared or vigilant
caught in an off-guard moment
- Parents are often caught off-guard by the arrival of the new technology in their children's school.
- So when word came last month that the Democrats were drawing up a new public-relations battle plan, the insurance companies were sent reeling and seemed to be caught off-guard.
- A year ago the Chinese government was caught off-guard by an uprising by Tibetan activists.