off guard

phrase

: in an unprepared or unsuspecting state

Her angry response caught me off guard.

Examples of off guard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The energy price spike ushered in by the Iran war left many Americans off guard as inflation remains persistent and higher costs ding consumer sentiment. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 7 July 2026

Trying to catch Cape Verde off guard, Messi curled a left-footed shot toward the upper right corner of the net. — Tim Rohan, NBC news, 4 July 2026

The moment visibly caught Duff off guard, prompting members of her security team to step forward briefly, though the singer quickly laughed it off and continued the performance without interruption. — Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 3 July 2026

After the assemblies, longtime Colorado Democratic strategist Mike Dino told CBS Colorado that DeGette's name recognition and congressional seniority were significant advantages in the race, but that her poor showing caught him off guard. — Jesse Sarles, CBS News, 1 July 2026

Rhymes for off guard

• asgard
• backyard
• barnyard
• blackguard
• bombard
• brickyard
• canard
• churchyard
• coastguard
• courtyard
• debarred
• diehard