to take someone by surprise
41take the wind out of one's sails — {v. phr.} To surprise someone by doing better or by catching him in an error. * /John came home boasting about the fish he had caught; it took the wind out of his sails when he found his little sister had caught a bigger one./ * /Dick took the… …
42take\ the\ wind\ out\ of\ one's\ sails — v. phr. To surprise someone by doing better or by catching him in an error. John came home boasting about the fish he had caught; it took the wind out of his sails when he found his little sister had caught a bigger one. Dick took the wind out of …
43catch/take by surprise — catch/take (someone or something) by surprise 1 : to happen to (someone or something) unexpectedly : to surprise (someone or something) The question caught him by surprise. The organization was taken completely by surprise by the announcement. 2 …
44catch 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… …
45do a double take — Someone who does a double take looks again in surprise at something unexpected. He did a double take when he saw his wife in a restaurant with another man …
46catch someone napping — CATCH OFF GUARD, catch unawares, (take by) surprise, catch out, find unprepared; informal catch someone with their trousers/pants down; Brit. informal catch on the hop. → nap * * * catch someone napping (informal) 1. To detect someone in error… …
47catch someone napping — the teacher had warned us to be ever prepared, but the unannounced test caught most of us napping Syn: catch off guard, catch unawares, surprise, take by surprise, catch out, find unprepared; informal catch someone with their pants down …
48Double Take (film) — Infobox Film | name = Double Take caption = director = George Gallo producer = David Permut Brett Ratner writer = Graham Greene starring = Eddie Griffin Orlando Jones Edward Hermann Gary Grubbs Daniel Roebuck Sterling Macer Jr music = Graeme… …
49Spit-take — A spit take is a comedic technique in which someone spits a beverage out of his or her mouth when he or she reacts to a statement during a take. In a spit take, the reaction is usually one of surprise. Danny Thomas is sometimes credited with… …
50double take — noun A take, commonly used as a comical reaction to a surprising sight, in which someone casually sees something, briefly stops looking at it, realizes what it is, and snaps attention back to it with an expression of surprise or disbelief. Smith… …
