From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcatch/throw somebody off balancecatch/throw somebody off balanceto surprise someone and make them confused and no longer calm The question caught him off balance. → balance
Examples from the Corpus
catch/throw somebody off balance• She has a problem with some little gland or other, which can throw her right off balance.• But before Adamowski could get his campaign under way, Daley threw him off balance by going on the offensive.• A badly packed rucksack can easily throw you off balance.• It throws the viewer off balance but speaks to the part of each person that is capable, potent and dignified.• The movement threw him off balance.• And despite what he'd said, less a token of affection than a means of throwing her off balance.• He had an authority, an abrupt decisiveness, that caught me 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 somebody off-balancecatch/throw somebody off-balanceto surprise or shock someone because they are not prepared for something that happens I was thrown off-balance by some of the more difficult questions I was asked. → off-balance 