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Phrase(s): take someone by surprise [and] catch someone by surprise
to startle someone; to surprise someone with something unexpected. • Oh! You took me by surprise because I didn’t hear you come in. • Bill caught his mother by surprise by coming to the door and pretending to be selling something., Phrase(s): take someone or something by surprise
to startle or surprise someone or something. • She bolted into the room and took them by surprise. • I took the little bird by surprise, and it flew away.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs