caught with (one's) pants down

caught with (one's) pants down

Taken by surprise. Caught in a vulnerable (often embarrassing) position or situation. When the boss started firing questions at me, I was caught with my pants down and looked like a fool. I just hadn't considered all of those potential outcomes yet and didn't know what to say! We seriously underestimated our opponents on Saturday and totally got caught with our pants down.See also: caught, down, pant