I. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
batting/catching etc practice
▪
We'd better do a bit of batting practice before the game.
be captured/caught on video (= recorded on video )
▪
The crime was captured on video.
be caught on camera (= be photographed, especially doing something wrong )
▪
The boys were caught on camera leaving the station.
be caught with your hands/fingers in the till (= to be caught stealing from your employer )
be stuck/caught/held up in traffic
▪
Sorry I’m late – I was stuck in traffic.
catch a ball
▪
He’s useless at sport; he can’t even catch a ball.
catch a chill
▪
Let’s get these wet clothes off you before you catch a chill .
catch a cold (= start to have one )
▪
I caught a cold and had to miss the match.
catch a flight (= be in time to get on a plane )
▪
They caught a flight that night to Frankfurt.
catch a train
▪
He was in a hurry to catch a train.
catch the post (= post your letter in time for it to be collected )
▪
He wrote the letter hurriedly because he was anxious to catch the post.
catch up on some sleep (= sleep after not having enough sleep )
▪
I suggest you try and catch up on some sleep.
catch/get a bug
▪
Six out of ten travellers get a stomach bug abroad.
catch/get a disease ( also contract a disease formal )
▪
He caught the disease while travelling in Africa.
catch/grab/seize etc hold of sth (= start holding something quickly and firmly )
▪
She grabbed hold of the letter and tore it open.
catch/land a fish
▪
Pete caught a really big fish.
catch/take a plane
▪
She caught the first plane back to New York.
caught a glimpse
▪
They caught a glimpse of a dark green car.
caught in the crossfire
▪
During a divorce, kids often get caught in the crossfire .
caught in the crossfire
▪
Doctors who tried to help the wounded were caught in the crossfire .
caught speeding
▪
I got caught speeding on the A40 yesterday.
follow/get/catch sb’s drift (= understand the general meaning of what someone is saying )
▪
She didn’t quite get my drift, did she?
get caught in the rain (= be outside when it starts raining )
▪
Did you get caught in the rain?
get sth caught/stuck etc
▪
She got her foot caught in the wire.
get/catch a cough
▪
A lot of people get coughs at this time of year.
get/catch a whiff of sth
▪
As she walked past, I caught a whiff of her perfume.
get/take/catch a bus
▪
Can we get a bus from here to Reading?
play catch/house/tag/school etc
▪
Outside, the children were playing cowboys and Indians.
risk being seen/caught/arrested etc
▪
Workers who broke the strike risked being attacked when they left the factory.
safety catch
sth catches fire (= it starts burning )
▪
The boat caught fire and sank.
take/get/catch a cab (= travel by cab )
▪
Why don't we take a cab to the theater?
the police catch sb
▪
The police are no nearer to catching his killer.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
act
▪
Householders who catch burglars in the act may get a bit rough and individual policemen may strike out in some after-hours pub rough-house.
▪
For weeks after that outburst, when we had been caught in the act of friendship, he stopped coming near me.
▪
Well, I've caught you in the act .
▪
Adulterers caught in the act could be stoned to death.
▪
But he's got to be caught in the act .
▪
If you move fast, you can catch them in the act , he says.
▪
Those figures whose legs were unequal - which was most of them - looked caught in the act of moving.
▪
Few thieves are caught in the act .
attention
▪
Before the lights went down I saw that some one below in the stalls was trying to catch my attention .
▪
When a moving object catches their attention , babies are apt to focus on it.
▪
In fact, Green Chemistry is published so attractively that it catches immediate attention of the readers.
▪
One white woman nearby caught her attention .
▪
We need to catch and hold their attention .
▪
The captive princess caught their attention and they looked curiously at her.
▪
There are other ways for aspiring stars to catch the attention of a record company.
▪
But it caught the attention of Sarandon, who asked to meet with Prejean over dinner.
ball
▪
Children were playing and throwing a ball for each other to catch .
▪
He caught the ball in rhythm and drained the 3-pointer with 15. 7 seconds left.
▪
The ever-enthusiastic and friendly Bobby Skinstad volunteered to lift me up from behind for me to catch the ball .
▪
He knows how to run routes and catches the ball well.
▪
Winston Churchill, with extraordinary perspicacity, wrote at the time: Meeting an artillery attack is like catching a cricket ball .
▪
He has been catching the ball deeper downfield as the season has gone along.
▪
Meeting an artillery attack is like catching a cricket ball .
▪
He caught the ball and took off, all 320 pounds of him.
breath
▪
Busacher slumped into the passenger seat and sat catching his breath .
▪
They catch their breath and gripe about the trail.
▪
She could hear Moxie catching her breath .
▪
Tokyo stocks fell Monday as investors caught their breath following a strong advance over the two previous sessions.
▪
It gives me a chance to catch my breath before we set off again.
▪
She caught her breath in fear, holding it until the answer came.
▪
Despite her fear she caught her breath at such beauty.
bus
▪
She catches the bus at the end of the lane.
▪
Alvin caught the bus to school at six in the morning and made it home by seven at night.
▪
And I've got to catch the team bus at twelve-forty-five.
▪
She was trying to catch the bus that was greedily gobbling up passengers at an angle across the street.
▪
We arrived back in Funchal some twelve hours after we had first caught the bus .
▪
One cool March morning we hiked over to the Mendoza road and caught the twice-weekly bus to Temuco.
▪
We caught a late bus out of Bordeaux and arrived in darkness.
▪
Had set off to catch the bus .
cold
▪
He caught a bad cold and, thinking that the disease had returned, took his life.
▪
He had enjoyed himself by our fire, but had caught a tremendous cold as soon as he left the mountains.
▪
After addressing a public meeting in support of extending the franchise to agricultural workers he had caught a severe cold .
▪
If Match sneezes, Ankh-Morpork catches a cold .
▪
When he started to tremble, he figured this was the best way to catch a cold .
▪
Then she had caught a very nasty cold which would not budge.
▪
I may be catching a cold .
disease
▪
To be recalled for a second Pap smear is to catch the disease of fear.
▪
The Assiniboin came in to trade and hung around outside the walls and soon caught the disease .
▪
He had gone further and had suggested that he had actually caught the disease from her.
▪
He is believed to have caught the disease from a patient.
▪
We all get sick, but we do not live in fear of catching every known disease .
▪
You have got to spray as soon as you catch the disease in the crop.
▪
The purpose of the statute was to lessen the risk of cattle catching a contagious disease while in transit.
▪
She hoped she hadn't caught an unmentionable disease from her visit to the news-theatre.
eye
▪
It seemed to Kelly that she was trying to catch her eye for some reason.
▪
What could be the meaning of the omen which had caught his eye ?
▪
If anyone caught her curious eye , they just smiled politely back and got on with their business.
▪
Buy my ice cream catches the eye when it is accompanied by a picture of two good-looking people seducing each other.
▪
She hugged herself, sniffing from time to time, and tried to catch his eye .
▪
Then she caught Chris's eyes , and yes, it was, after all.
fire
▪
A fault in the drying cycle means that the machine overheats and can catch fire .
▪
Sydney withdrew out of range and bombarded Emden with shells from her 6in guns until she caught fire .
▪
Worse, he was caught in the cross fire of local conflicts.
▪
The plaintiffs were assured that there was no danger of the oil catching fire on water and continued welding.
▪
In the second half, Eddie catches fire .
▪
We know that the next falling star is almost certain to get too close to the sun, and catch fire !
▪
His pants were about to catch fire .
fish
▪
It would surely take less effort to catch a fish itself.
▪
She ordered him to return to the place where he had caught the fish and ask for a nice cottage.
▪
Alan Soden told the court that he caught the fish because his family was desperate for food.
▪
Assume that the skipper can catch a fish dinner in 10 hours and build a thatched hut in 20.
▪
They say you can catch really big fish .
▪
The bridge on State Road 46 is another good spot to catch the fish , using minnows.
▪
Don't you know you're using that boy like bait to catch a fish ?
▪
Luckily their cargo included rice which they supplemented by catching fish and collecting rainwater.
flight
▪
And he had deliberately caught his flight with just minutes to spare.
▪
Bernstein caught the first flight out of Washington Friday, August 25, and again spent most of the day with Ruby.
▪
Perhaps she had witnessed the attack on her father but had had to leave in order to catch the designated flight .
▪
It was one reason why I caught the first flight home.
▪
She was so distressed that she caught the first flight from Calcutta to New Delhi.
▪
A week ago her plan had been to give Travis the slip and catch the first flight out.
▪
He must catch a flight to Washington to tell a committee that the cities need more money.
glimpse
▪
You will also catch a glimpse of the Big Wheel in the famous Peter fairground.
▪
No one ever caught a glimpse of his furrowed face smiling over innocent pleasantries.
▪
Sometimes I had caught glimpses of his shadow on the wall.
▪
Occasionally they caught a glimpse of trees on the canyon rim, five thousand feet above.
▪
She caught a glimpse of his paleness at the window of the bathroom on the first floor.
▪
Above them were fields of blazing stars and on some of the curves Marge caught a glimpse of moonlight on rolling surf.
▪
The car slowed down and a chill swept over as she caught a glimpse of the driver.
▪
Perhaps I might catch a glimpse of Frank.
guard
▪
The whole problem was going to be catching her off her guard .
▪
She really caught me off guard with her comments.
▪
The announcement of the opening came suddenly that morning, and many boats were caught off guard .
▪
It feels good to Jody, but she is caught off guard .
▪
This catches William off his guard .
▪
Penelope flinched, angry at her thoughts, and at the girl who had caught her off guard .
▪
The words caught him off guard .
▪
The president faces issues that can catch him off guard and undermine his authority.
imagination
▪
It catches people's imagination , and becomes, as Harry wanted, a kind of pictogram to represent the whole range.
▪
The technology has caught the imagination of many.
▪
Now genetics has become the science that catches the collective imagination as does no other.
▪
The Berlin airlift caught the imagination of the world.
▪
Microscopes caught the imagination , as well they might.
▪
Political hacking is starting to catch the imagination of the Left.
▪
At the turn of the century Paris caught people's imagination .
▪
That is one of the reasons why container gardening catches the imagination .
pass
▪
Floyd has also caught 16 passes .
▪
He had nine carries for 47 yards and caught three passes for 48 yards.
▪
Michael Irvin caught six passes and never once signaled for his own first down.
▪
Jeff George threw for 260 yards, with Tim Brown catching seven passes for 107 yards.
▪
Truitt caught 10 passes for 131 yards.
▪
He caught just three passes for 25 yards and seemed to be used as a decoy most of the game.
▪
He caught four passes for 26 yards, again more than all of last year.
▪
He also caught a 34-yard scoring pass from Morgan.
plane
▪
The only chance was to catch the overnight plane .
▪
He caught a plane last night.
▪
Arriving late to find all moving stairways were out of order a panicky half mile sprint was needed to catch our plane .
▪
She caught the first plane back to New York.
▪
When I heard she was with you, I caught the next plane to Nice.
▪
Had they seen Saturday's encounter, the Kiwis might have been tempted to catch a plane home.
▪
I have a guest house where you can stay and I will make sure you catch your planes .
▪
By the time she was discovered, it would be too late for her to catch the plane .
sun
▪
Dalgliesh could glimpse what was obviously her herb garden planted in elegant terracotta pots carefully disposed to catch the sun .
▪
Up in the woods many of the buds that catch the sun have begun to pop.
▪
Soon, they would catch up with the sun and obscure it.
▪
A flock of dunlin flew across the marsh in a silver swirl, catching the sun , dazzling the eye.
▪
Before his eyes dull muddy grass turned into soft reflective banks which caught the sun a thousand ways.
▪
These beautiful evergreen trees catch the sun and produce wonderful sculptural forms.
▪
Turning uphill, her mirrored glasses catching the hot sun , she looks ready to cry.
surprise
▪
He caught me by surprise and I sounded foolish.
▪
Welch and I had a rather heated exchange about the appropriateness of his editorial interference, which had caught me by surprise .
▪
Billy had caught him by surprise .
▪
The chill in the air caught me by surprise , a sharp mountain night breeze.
▪
He'd caught her by surprise , that was all.
▪
He dipped her, catching her by surprise , letting her drop backwards.
▪
So the two white girls standing in front of the mirrors are caught by surprise .
▪
They too were caught by surprise .
train
▪
After the debate, they dined on hamburgers and talked sports at a local joint before catching a train back to Washington.
▪
Several hours later I was in London making my way to another railway station to catch the train going North.
▪
Panicky civilians raced to the railway station to catch any train heading south.
▪
I hang round the station a bit, watching the people all hurrying to catch their trains .
▪
Maybe she had caught a train to New Rochelle.
▪
After seeing the competitors set off, there was a dash to Forster Square Station to catch the train to Esholt.
■ VERB
get
▪
On the wrong side of the knitting, this looks much neater and stops little fingers getting caught !
▪
And who got caught standing in the rain as gaskets blew and transmissions ground to a halt?
▪
Anyway, we won't get caught .
▪
Orstedt complains wild animals get caught in the fencing while trying to reach the water.
▪
And then I got caught up in being young.
▪
Funny thing is, he repeated the mistake in Game 4, getting caught in a rundown between second and third base.
▪
The people who get caught and imprisoned may not be a representative picture of all criminals.
▪
I could see her debate, trying to decide which was worse: infuriating Rosie or getting caught spying on Lila Sams.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
I wouldn't be seen/caught dead
attract/catch/get sb's attention
be (caught) in a cleft stick
▪
Now the local authorities are caught in a cleft stick, hostages to their own political process.
▪
So the developing countries are caught in a cleft stick.
be (caught/locked/stuck) in a time warp
be taken short/be caught short
capture/catch sb's imagination
▪
The story of a boy raised by monkeys has caught the imagination of millions.
catch hell
▪
That boy's going to catch hell when he gets home.
▪
Emilio, no worse than any of the others, nevertheless caught hell most often.
catch sb flat-footed
▪
The recent recession caught managers flat-footed and unprepared.
catch sb on the hop
▪
Many politicians have been caught on the hop by a good interviewer.
▪
The dramatic fall in share prices caught even the experts on the hop .
▪
Sorry about the mess but you caught me on the hop like.
▪
They catch you on the hop .
▪
Yes, I think I caught her on the hop .
▪
You caught us on the hop there, ol' buddy.
catch sb red-handed
▪
The FBI caught the mayor red-handed using drugs.
catch some/a few rays
▪
Clothes, sleeping bags, spare canvas, all were hung up or spread out to catch a few rays of sunshine.
catch the sun
▪
A flock of dunlin flew across the marsh in a silver swirl, catching the sun , dazzling the eye.
▪
Before his eyes dull muddy grass turned into soft reflective banks which caught the sun a thousand ways.
▪
Dalgliesh could glimpse what was obviously her herb garden planted in elegant terracotta pots carefully disposed to catch the sun .
▪
My chair with its high back and strong iron wheels is positioned correctly to catch the sun .
▪
Perhaps she had caught the sun .
▪
These beautiful evergreen trees catch the sun and produce wonderful sculptural forms.
▪
Up in the woods many of the buds that catch the sun have begun to pop.
catch your breath
▪
Clark had to sit down to catch his breath .
▪
And then history paused, just to catch its breath .
▪
Both waders immediately filled and I caught my breath as freezing April waters began to stimulate sensitive nether regions.
▪
Busacher slumped into the passenger seat and sat catching his breath .
▪
I said, falling on to a chair, trying to catch my breath .
▪
She caught her breath in fear, holding it until the answer came.
▪
She could hear Moxie catching her breath .
▪
The slow movement of this performance is particularly fine, with pianissimos that have you catching your breath .
▪
Tokyo stocks fell Monday as investors caught their breath following a strong advance over the two previous sessions.
catch/get some Z's
catch/take sb off-guard
catch/throw sb off balance
▪
A badly packed rucksack can easily throw you off balance .
▪
And despite what he'd said, less a token of affection than a means of throwing her off balance .
▪
But before Adamowski could get his campaign under way, Daley threw him off balance by going on the offensive.
▪
He had an authority, an abrupt decisiveness, that caught me off balance .
▪
It throws the viewer off balance but speaks to the part of each person that is capable, potent and dignified.
▪
She has a problem with some little gland or other, which can throw her right off balance .
▪
The movement threw him off balance .
▪
Waking up to that penetrating ice-blue gaze was enough to throw anyone off balance for the rest of the day.
catch/throw sb off guard
▪
Could the upper management of a leading firm like Merrill Lynch be caught so entirely off guard ?
▪
I said it suddenly like that, just blurted it out, and I guess it caught him off guard .
▪
Penelope flinched, angry at her thoughts, and at the girl who had caught her off guard .
▪
She really caught me off guard with her comments.
▪
The president faces issues that can catch him off guard and undermine his authority.
▪
The question caught Firebug off guard .
▪
The words caught him off guard .
▪
This caught me completely off guard .
catch/throw sb off-balance
catch/touch sb on the raw
▪
She had the fleeting impression that she'd caught him on the raw .
like a rabbit/deer caught in headlights
take/catch sb by surprise
▪
He caught me by surprise and I sounded foolish.
▪
He rolled towards Lily, taking her by surprise .
▪
His deep voice took Romanov by surprise .
▪
In consequence, untold numbers of sailors died when their destinations suddenly loomed out of the sea and took them by surprise .
▪
Inspector Montgomery's sudden termination of the interview had taken her by surprise initially, but now she understood his strategy.
▪
The hug takes him by surprise .
▪
The thought that had been waiting to be revealed, waiting to take him by surprise .
▪
Welch and I had a rather heated exchange about the appropriateness of his editorial interference, which had caught me by surprise .
take/catch sb unawares
▪
I was caught unawares by his kiss.
take/catch your fancy
▪
A porcelain corgi in the window took her fancy .
▪
And you use everyone, for whatever little scheme takes your fancy .
▪
Have you been trawling the sales and picking up every urn and tub that caught your fancy ?
▪
I'd wander down the high street, frittering away on whatever took my fancy .
▪
I am just glad I wasn't Anne Boleyn, or some other lady who took his fancy .
▪
Selection is not a matter of having everything that takes your fancy .
▪
Turn to page 14 to see which takes your fancy .
▪
When Oates took his fancy passing to Boston, Cam Neely thrived.
the early bird catches the worm
you'll catch your death (of cold)
▪
Don't go out without a coat! You'll catch your death of cold!
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
"Can I see that pen?" "Sure, catch ."
▪
"I bet you can't catch me!" yelled Katie, skipping away.
▪
"We went fishing." "Did you catch anything?"
▪
"You can't catch me!" she yelled.
▪
A lot of burglars never get caught.
▪
As Yvonne shook her head, her earrings caught the light from the candles.
▪
Brooks was caught smoking in an airplane lavatory and fined $750 dollars.
▪
Denise caught the bride's bouquet.
▪
Did you catch what the book's called?
▪
Dion caught a cold on vacation.
▪
Go on, jump. I'll catch you.
▪
I caught their act at the Blue Note Jazz Club.
▪
I didn't catch his first name.
▪
I managed to catch her just as she was leaving the office.
▪
I only caught about the last 20 minutes of the movie.
▪
I think I must have caught the flu from Sarah.
▪
I was about to correct him, but I caught myself in time.
▪
If we're quick, we should still be able to catch our train.
▪
If you call around 8:30, you might catch Shirley.
▪
It's a really funny play, but goes too fast to catch all the jokes.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
Before his eyes dull muddy grass turned into soft reflective banks which caught the sun a thousand ways.
▪
Every time I get caught or arrested I get asthma.
▪
From within, I catch the trill of a Pogues song.
▪
In this way there is less chance of being caught at a disadvantage or being ambushed by circumstances.
▪
Linder appeared to waver for a moment, like a leaf caught in a breeze.
▪
They too were caught by surprise.
▪
They were questioning me about whether I could catch .
▪
You caught me, I came willingly, and we enjoyed each other.
II. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
good
▪
Harvey was the better catch , and there was her speech to worry about.
▪
Since a doctor or a lawyer is a good catch , he can attract a woman whose family is wealthy.
▪
A man in a uniform was a good catch in these parts.
▪
Mr Cubbage must have seemed a good catch with his fine house, handsome looks and with his obvious wealth.
▪
Her new boyfriend was a young businessman and drove a Sprite and Pam thought he was a good catch .
■ NOUN
fire
▪
Some 60,000 catch fire every year, killing several hundred people and injuring over 10,000.
▪
One local fisherman is drowned when his boat catches fire and burns.
▪
A spark from the engine ignites the gas, and smoke and flames start to rise as the wood catches fire .
phrase
▪
This is sometimes described in the catch phrase that we must treat like cases alike.
▪
Nearly every economic summit since the first one in 1975 has come up with a catch phrase .
▪
These two catch phrases would later be appropriated by the marketers charged with selling the Macintosh.
safety
▪
He pulled the trigger, believing that the safety catch was on.
▪
Plummer lowered the weapon, easing the hammer forward and slipping on the safety catch .
▪
He thought the safety catch was on.
▪
She slipped the safety catch into place and deposited the gun on the coffee table beside her.
▪
It came clear from the bag, her finger slipping on to the trigger, thumb freeing the safety catch .
▪
Desperately, he reached for the hidden gun and fumbled with its safety catch .
▪
The man had seen Mike first but had fumbled with his safety catch as Mike killed him.
touchdown
▪
Owens is a dangerous playmaker with six touchdown catches .
■ VERB
drop
▪
On the first day he dropped two catches in the slip / gulley region; one straight forward, the other hard.
hold
▪
Gough scrambled forward from mid-off but just failed to hold on to the catch .
▪
The batsman failed to survive the over though, Gooch managing to hold on to a slip catch .
▪
Jason Brown at last had a bowl-five innocuous overs-and super-sub Stewart held three catches .
▪
He held 59 catches and took 32 wickets at 47.00 with unremarkable medium-pace.
make
▪
Running back at the crack of the bat, Greer leaped high and made the catch with his glove above the fence.
▪
The key to coverage, Carroll said, is tackling the receivers as soon as they make their catch .
play
▪
From my second-floor vantage point I could see my classmates as they tumbled out into the quad playing catch with my shoes.
▪
Its polythene wrapping looked vaguely torn and grubby, as if members of the Waitrose staff had already been playing catch with it.
▪
I read to him, played catch in the alley and taught him how to ride his new bike.
▪
My first thoughts were about the two of us playing catch .
▪
I bought one the first day I arrived and have been roaming the streets ever since looking for some one to play catch .
release
▪
Wilcox told her to get in and release the bonnet catch .
▪
When the boy releases the catch , we don't get out immediately, because we can't stand up.
▪
The bolts are stiff; the pair of them have some difficulty releasing the catches and sliding them back.
take
▪
They cast their lines not far off-shore, and appeared to take excellent catches of fish.
▪
Eventually Rutherford's bat protruded too far forward and enabled Stewart to take a smart catch at short leg.
▪
On a rapid return journey he took the catch of the series so far in his right glove while airborne.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
I wouldn't be seen/caught dead
attract/catch/get sb's attention
be (caught) in a cleft stick
▪
Now the local authorities are caught in a cleft stick, hostages to their own political process.
▪
So the developing countries are caught in a cleft stick.
be (caught/locked/stuck) in a time warp
be caught napping
▪
Nowadays, no company can afford to be caught napping by a technological development.
▪
Stock traders who ignore these signs are in danger of being caught napping when a recession hits.
▪
I was reminding the golfing spirits that I could not be caught napping .
▪
Quakers were caught napping again two minutes later.
be taken short/be caught short
capture/catch sb's imagination
▪
The story of a boy raised by monkeys has caught the imagination of millions.
catch hell
▪
That boy's going to catch hell when he gets home.
▪
Emilio, no worse than any of the others, nevertheless caught hell most often.
catch sb flat-footed
▪
The recent recession caught managers flat-footed and unprepared.
catch sb red-handed
▪
The FBI caught the mayor red-handed using drugs.
catch some/a few rays
▪
Clothes, sleeping bags, spare canvas, all were hung up or spread out to catch a few rays of sunshine.
catch your breath
▪
Clark had to sit down to catch his breath .
▪
And then history paused, just to catch its breath .
▪
Both waders immediately filled and I caught my breath as freezing April waters began to stimulate sensitive nether regions.
▪
Busacher slumped into the passenger seat and sat catching his breath .
▪
I said, falling on to a chair, trying to catch my breath .
▪
She caught her breath in fear, holding it until the answer came.
▪
She could hear Moxie catching her breath .
▪
The slow movement of this performance is particularly fine, with pianissimos that have you catching your breath .
▪
Tokyo stocks fell Monday as investors caught their breath following a strong advance over the two previous sessions.
catch/get some Z's
catch/take sb off-guard
catch/throw sb off balance
▪
A badly packed rucksack can easily throw you off balance .
▪
And despite what he'd said, less a token of affection than a means of throwing her off balance .
▪
But before Adamowski could get his campaign under way, Daley threw him off balance by going on the offensive.
▪
He had an authority, an abrupt decisiveness, that caught me off balance .
▪
It throws the viewer off balance but speaks to the part of each person that is capable, potent and dignified.
▪
She has a problem with some little gland or other, which can throw her right off balance .
▪
The movement threw him off balance .
▪
Waking up to that penetrating ice-blue gaze was enough to throw anyone off balance for the rest of the day.
catch/throw sb off guard
▪
Could the upper management of a leading firm like Merrill Lynch be caught so entirely off guard ?
▪
I said it suddenly like that, just blurted it out, and I guess it caught him off guard .
▪
Penelope flinched, angry at her thoughts, and at the girl who had caught her off guard .
▪
She really caught me off guard with her comments.
▪
The president faces issues that can catch him off guard and undermine his authority.
▪
The question caught Firebug off guard .
▪
The words caught him off guard .
▪
This caught me completely off guard .
catch/throw sb off-balance
catch/touch sb on the raw
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She had the fleeting impression that she'd caught him on the raw .
drop a catch
like a rabbit/deer caught in headlights
take/catch sb unawares
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I was caught unawares by his kiss.
take/catch your fancy
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A porcelain corgi in the window took her fancy .
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And you use everyone, for whatever little scheme takes your fancy .
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Have you been trawling the sales and picking up every urn and tub that caught your fancy ?
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I'd wander down the high street, frittering away on whatever took my fancy .
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I am just glad I wasn't Anne Boleyn, or some other lady who took his fancy .
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Selection is not a matter of having everything that takes your fancy .
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Turn to page 14 to see which takes your fancy .
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When Oates took his fancy passing to Boston, Cam Neely thrived.
the early bird catches the worm
you'll catch your death (of cold)
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Don't go out without a coat! You'll catch your death of cold!
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Each morning, Troy goes down to the fish market to inspect the daily catch .
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Many of the best deals come with a catch : they are only good through early summer.
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That was a great catch !
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The catch is that you can't enter the contest unless you have spent $50 in the store.
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The catch on my necklace is broken.
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The deal comes with a catch - you have to buy one before June.
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You get free meals and accommodation, but there's a catch -- you have to look after the children.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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A tall, fair woman with legs as long as Julia Roberts', she would be a catch for his grand party.
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Anglers can take home limit or near limit catches daily.
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Certainly in his bachelor days Johnnie Spencer was the catch of the county.
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Ex-Chiefs wideout Willie Davis has turned five of his 22 catches into touchdowns.
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I read to him, played catch in the alley and taught him how to ride his new bike.
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The men fish and sell their catch along the little promenade.
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There is a catch , however!