off-guard

If you know you’re overly reactive to certain conversations, let your partner know beforehand so that they aren’t caught off guard in the moment.

So when borrowers refinance more quickly than anticipated, bond investors can be caught off guard.

European allies have been caught off guard by reports of the plan.

The Republican congressional leadership was caught off guard after aligning their message with the president for the past few weeks and opposing the release.

I remember feeling hurt when she didn’t respond to me, but being caught off guard by her sunny smile when I stormed over to confront her.