You Said It Once Said It Twice but I Do It Again
What Does Once Bitten, Twice Shy Mean?
Yous might wait this expression to be used when someone has been bitten, say by a dog or another fauna. Simply that'south non the case. You see, as an idiomatic expression, this phrase is intended figuratively (learn much more nearly idioms beneath). However, that doesn't mean nosotros tin't call up well-nigh a scenario in which someone has really been bitten to arrive at the figurative definition.
Imagine you're playing tug of state of war with a dog when he suddenly bites y'all. Will you be eager to play the same game the next fourth dimension you see the dog? Probably not. What virtually the time after that? Probably still not, right?
Once you lot've been injure past someone or something for the starting time time—whether physically or emotionally—y'all'll have actress care to avoid that person or the state of affairs over again… mayhap even for quite some time. And that'due south exactly what this proverbial and idiomatic phrase is used to express: beingness afraid to repeat an uncomfortable or unpleasant experience or incident, or to interact once more with a person who has inflicted some type of pain on yous. Although it can, it doesn't necessarily mean that yous won't ever repeat the scenario or that y'all won't ever come across that person again. When someone writes or says the phrase once bitten, twice shy, they're typically sharing that they volition be very cautious nigh putting themselves back in the same situation or interacting with the same person.
Hither are some case sentences using the phrase once bitten, twice shy:
- After my divorce, I don't know that I'll ally again—in one case bitten, twice shy.
- The salesman, once bitten, twice shy, shouldn't exist coming to knock on our door again. I made it clear nosotros don't need what he'south selling.
- I was so scared on that rollercoaster ride. There's no way I'll get on information technology once again; you know what they say, "Once bitten, twice shy!"
- Even though it seems like a lifetime ago that I tried acting, once bitten, twice shy; I'k notwithstanding not set to try again.
A common variant of this expression is in one case burned, twice shy. Information technology has the same pregnant as once bitten, twice shy, and you tin use it in all of the aforementioned circumstances to express that you're hesitant to endure an unpleasant experience for a second time.
The Origins of In one case Bitten, Twice Shy
The phrase is oftentimes attributed to the ancient Greek storyteller Aesop as the moral of ane of his fables about a dog and a wolf, later translated past William Claxton in the 1400s. In the tale, a wolf is about to consume a dog when the dog convinces the wolf to wait then he tin fatten himself up beginning. The wolf agrees. When the wolf later demands the dog give himself up to be eaten, the dog of course refuses. His trick worked, after all! The translation of the moral doesn't read exactly how nosotros know the phrase today, although information technology is similar and suggests that once someone has let themselves be fooled once, they won't let themselves be fooled over again.
Information technology's important to note here that in British English, particularly around the turn of the 19th century, the term bite was often used to describe a bad experience. In other words, it was said one was bitten in the figurative rather than literal sense, i.e. harmed or let down, as implied by the idiom one bitten, twice shy. Thus in British literature, we tin find many examples of similar expressions to the maxim as we at present know and utilise information technology. For instance, Eliza Fowler Haywood writes in her 1751 novel The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless:
"I accept been flake once, and take made a vow never to
settle upon whatever woman while I live, once more."
In her 1806 work Lady Maclairn, The Victim of Villany, Rachel Hunter writes:
"My wife says that the Helm is very addicted of her, and if all be gold that glitters, I am to believe that he doats upon her; merely in one case bit twice shy, is the maxim uppermost with me, when the Captain is concerned."
A virtually-match of the phrase tin also be establish in the 1850s novel Mr. Sponge's Sporting Bout by Robert Smith Surtees. Around the same fourth dimension, in 1857, a very like proverb appeared in William Scarborough's A Collection of Chinese Proverbs. It read, "Once bitten by a snake in passing by, a second fourth dimension he will of grass be shy."
The Phrase Gets a Pop-Culture Boost
Many people know the expression from the song by the same proper name, written by Ian Hunter and recorded and performed by the ring Great White to great acclaim in the belatedly 1980s. The lyrics describe a man hurt by beloved and a girl that tin can't exist counted on.
In fact, the idiom makes up the majority of the song'southward tricky chorus:
"I said my, my, my, I'm once bitten twice, shy infant
My, my, my, I'm once bitten twice shy baby
My, my, my, I'm in one case bitten twice shy baby"
Understanding Idioms and Proverbs
Once bitten, twice shy is both an idiom and a proverb.
An idiom is an expression with an intended significant that can't fully be understood simply past looking at the words that comprise it. As y'all've already discovered, these words and phrases accept a figurative rather than literal meaning: They don't mean what they appear to mean. Even if yous've never heard the term idiom, you have most probable heard many idiomatic expressions. Here are but a few of the most common idioms used today:
You're in hot water.
His boss gave him the ax.
Information technology's time to face up the music.
You've hit the nail on the head.
If you lot took the first example literally, you lot'd think it was describing a person standing in a bathtub full of hot water, perhaps. But the expression is actually used to depict a person who'south in trouble. Likewise, rather than literally being handed a tool for chopping wood, if you get the ax from your boss, it means you're getting fired. It's time to confront the music means that it's time to come to terms with the consequences of your deportment. And when someone has hit the nail on the head, they've gotten an answer exactly right or washed something exactly as it should take been done.
Y'all now know that the phrase in one case bitten, twice shy isn't used to depict a situation in which someone has literally been bitten (although it could be used in this way). Information technology is virtually frequently used figuratively when a person has been hurt or otherwise permit down by someone or something and is thus afraid of having the same bad experience happen to them once again. When they use this idiom, they're sharing that they feel the need to be cautious when information technology comes to that person or situation in the future.
A proverb is a short, common phrase or expression that imparts wisdom and advice or shares a universal truth. Synonyms of the term saying include adage and aphorism. Here are some boosted examples of well-known proverbs:
Deportment speak louder than words.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
A flick is worth a thousand words.
Don't approximate a book past its cover.
Discover the meanings of many more idioms hither ; learn more than about proverbs hither.
Synonyms for One time Bitten, Twice Shy
In that location are a diversity of words and phrases that tin be used instead of once bitten, twice shy to express the aforementioned or a similar sentiment. You may not be able to replace the phrase in a judgement exactly every bit written with the words and phrases in the list below; however, you can use them to share the idea that something bad has happened to y'all and you desire to avoid a bad experience again. You tin as well consult a thesaurus and blazon in some of these examples if you wish to look up additional terms and new words to use. A dictionary entry for any of the words below may also lead you to more than synonyms.
- Cautious
- Conscientious
- Wary
- Fearful
- Suspicious
- Watchful
- Vigilant
- Distrustful
- Hesitant
- On guard
- Guarded
- On one's toes
- Risk-averse
- Prudent
- Measured
- Mindful
- Warning
- On alert
- Optics peeled
Summary
The proverb and idiomatic phrase one time bitten, twice shy is used when a person has been unsuccessful at doing something or otherwise been hurt in or by a situation. Equally a result, they are afraid to put themselves in that scenario for a 2nd time. In other words, information technology's used when someone wants to share they've had a bad experience that they don't want to repeat. It'southward possible that a version of the expression dates back to the 1400s, although information technology became more than widely used in the 1800s and rose to immense popularity in the 1980s with Not bad White's nautical chart-topping hit by the same name.
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Source: https://thewordcounter.com/what-does-once-bitten-twice-shy-mean/
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