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Discover LudwigThe phrase "are caught off" is not correct in standard written English.
It seems to be a misphrasing, possibly intended to convey being caught off guard or caught off balance.
Example: "They were caught off guard by the sudden change in plans."
Alternatives: "are taken by surprise" or "are caught unprepared."
Dictionary
are caught off
verb
Past of catch
Exact(23)
People are caught off guard.
Sometimes government officials are caught off guard.
Fish, including weakfish, drumfish, and bluefish, are caught off the Atlantic coast.
Turn that page with anticipation and you are caught off guard.
When they get the type of response they're getting in this particular case, they are caught off guard.
The purest bliss for an arts punter comes when we are caught off guard, when we sense an insight we didn't even know existed.
Similar(31)
But, he said, they are caught off-guard when it is not as smooth as they expect.
Sometimes, though, you are caught off-guard and it's scary, as when you're in the surf over your head and you get stuck in a vortex of rough waves.
Many of the pictures resemble traditional studio portraits, although some subjects are caught off-guard: the young woman comically grimacing and clawing at her face with her fingers, for example.
In the US, students have also requested that so-called "trigger warnings" be included on the front covers of classic works of literature, in case people who have had distressing experiences of sexual violence, racism or other traumas are caught off-guard and find themselves reliving the past.
As a consequence, many of them are caught off-guard and left dealing with victims of their own success.
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Justyna Jupowicz-Kozak
CEO of Professional Science Editing for Scientists @ prosciediting.com