to take someone by surprise
1take someone by surprise — take (someone) by surprise to do something not expected. His resignation took us all completely by surprise …
2take someone by surprise — happen unexpectedly to someone. → surprise …
3take someone/thing by surprise — attack or capture someone or something unexpectedly. ↘(take someone by surprise) happen unexpectedly to someone. → surprise …
4take someone/something by surprise — attack or capture someone or something unexpectedly ■ take someone by surprise happen when someone is not prepared or is expecting something different the question took David by surprise …
6take someone unawares — catch/take/someone unawares phrase to surprise someone, often making them feel confused or embarrassed Burchill’s shot caught the goalkeeper completely unawares. Thesaurus: to make someone feel shocked or surprisedsynonym Main entry: unawares …
7take 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… …
8take someone aback — SURPRISE, shock, stun, stagger, astound, astonish, startle, take by surprise; dumbfound, nonplus, stop someone in their tracks; shake (up), jolt, throw, unnerve, disconcert, unsettle, bewilder; informal flabbergast, knock si …
9take someone aback — shock or surprise someone. → aback …
10catch/take someone or something 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 …
