Heard schoolmaster, highly regarded, gets caught unawares (9)
I believe the answer is:
surprised
'caught unawares' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'heard schoolmaster highly regarded' is the wordplay.
'heard' shows a homophone (sound like).
'schoolmaster' becomes 'sir' (a school teacher may be addressed as sir).
'highly regarded' becomes 'prised' (prising is a kind of regarding. I am not sure about the 'highly' bit.).
'sir' is a homophone of 'sur'.
'sur'+'prised'='SURPRISED'
'gets' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for surprised that I've seen before include "Lost for words" , "hit for six" , "Mildly astonished" , "left open-mouthed" , "Caught in the act" .)