off balance

1. Out of equilibrium, unsteady, as in When learning how to ride a two-wheeler, it's easy to get off balance and fall , or She stood up and threw the canoe off balance . [Mid-1900s]

2. Surprised, unprepared, as in The teacher gives unannounced tests to keep the class off balance . [Second half of 1900s]

Example Sentences

And yet, none of that seemed to knock him off balance.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Throwing negativity at someone almost assures it’ll come back to you, and then you’ll be off balance.

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Kirsh uses the distraction to yank Morrow off balance and choke him out.

Read more on Salon

His secondary stuff was electric, a mix of sliders and sweepers and curveballs and splitters that kept the Phillies off balance and able to make only benign contact.

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He's stubborn, disciplined, and smart enough to use that reach, keep Alvarez off balance, and make him pay for every step forward.

Read more on BBC