“Once bitten, twice shy”: meaning and examples
What it means
The phrase Once bitten, twice shy means that after experiencing a negative situation, particularly one that involves being hurt or suffering a loss, a person is likely to be more cautious or hesitant to engage in similar situations in the future.
Tone The tone of the phrase is cautionary and suggests wariness or vigilance based on past experiences.
Examples
- After getting food poisoning from the restaurant, she’s once bitten, twice shy about dining out.
- He had a rough experience with his last business partner, so now he’s once bitten, twice shy when it comes to forming new partnerships.
- She’s once bitten, twice shy about lending money to friends after never being repaid the last time.
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