to be caught on the hop

jelentés / meaning:
váratlanul érint valami, felkészületlenül ér valami

to be in an unprepared situation
 
if you catch someone on the hop, you do something when they are not ready for it and may not be able to deal with it well 

 "That kiss really caught me on the hop."

forrás/ source: link

 példák / examples:

• I'm afraid you've caught me on the hop - I wasn't expecting your call until this afternoon. 
• I'm afraid you've caught me on the hop - I wasn't expecting you till next week.
• If we attack at the very start of the game, we may just catch their defenders on the hop.
• My daughter caught me on the hop yesterday. 
• The new ruling caught me on the hop. 
•  Make sure everything is ready well in advance otherwise you will be caught on the hop.

• A : Debbie had a baby a week after marrying Derek Dim. Derek didn't even know his wife was pregnant.
• B : Yes, the baby caught him on the hop -- he thought Debbie was just very fat.

 

make headway

jelentés / meaning: 
előrehalad valamivel (szó szerint és átvitt értelemben is), halad valamivel, boldogul valamivel

make headway =to achieve progress
headway=progress , especially in difficult circumstances 

"This soldier struggles to make headway against a gale."

példák / examples:

• We are making little headway with the negotiations.
• We hope scientists are able to continue to make headway against cancer.
• We haven't made any headway with this project. 
• With Freda's help, we made headway.  
• The boat made slow headway against the tide.
• We just couldn't make any significant headway despite having the benefit of a stiff breeze behind our backs.