Catch napping
Surprise, take unawares. This term is often used in the passive, as in The United States was really caught napping the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor . It originated in the mid-1500s as to be taken napping also see under: off guard
Historical Examples
But he was one of those wary old watch-dogs who are hard to catch napping.
The Chouans Honore de Balzac
Read Also:
- Catch off guard
see under off guard
- Catch one flat footed
having flatfeet. taking or showing an uncompromising stand in a matter; firm and explicit: a flatfooted denial. clumsy or plodding; maladroit: flatfooted writing. catch one flatfooted, to catch one unprepared; surprise: The amount of the bill caught us flatfooted. adjective Unprepared; surprised •Usu in the phrase catch someone flatfooted: He just stood there flatfooted and […]
- Flatfooted
having flatfeet. taking or showing an uncompromising stand in a matter; firm and explicit: a flatfooted denial. clumsy or plodding; maladroit: flatfooted writing. catch one flatfooted, to catch one unprepared; surprise: The amount of the bill caught us flatfooted. Historical Examples So my dignity was shocked when I had to come down from my self-promoted […]
- Catchpenny
made to sell readily at a low price, regardless of value or use. something that is catchpenny. Historical Examples It is the staple commodity of your newspaper-mongers, and the catchpenny song of the streets. Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 368, June 1846 Various Wrote a tale of “’76,” which with others will make a […]
- Catch-phrase
a phrase that attracts or is meant to attract attention. a phrase, as a slogan, that comes to be widely and repeatedly used, often with little of the original meaning remaining. Contemporary Examples For those wondering, this vanishing middle ground is where the book gets its catch-phrase title. Welcome to Tyler Cowen’s Future of Genius […]