Timeline for What does "twice" mean in " Once bitten, twice shy"?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
10 events
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| Jun 7, 2022 at 13:29 | comment | added | Joachim Lous | @Graham it is possible to be shy of something, and that is indeed a likely consequence of being bitten by it. | |
| Jun 7, 2022 at 10:54 | comment | added | Graham | @mcalex No it isn't, because that's meaningless. The proverb does not mean that you become shy, which is a continual state of being, it means that you react differently to a specific stimulus. "Bitten" cannot possibly link to becoming shy, because this is not a possible consequence of being bitten. When you know that "shy" here means "shy away", this all has meaning, because it reflects a natural reaction if something tries to bite you and one which is naturally reinforced after actually being bitten. As for "twice coy", that's doubly meaningless (and is not a proverb that exists). | |
| Jun 7, 2022 at 5:02 | comment | added | mcalex | >> "To understand this ..." No you don't. In the proverb, shy isn't 'to shy (away)', it's 'be/are shy'. 'Once bitten, twice coy' though non-idiomatic, conveys the same meaning. | |
| Jun 6, 2022 at 14:53 | history | edited | Graham | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Jun 6, 2022 at 14:48 | history | edited | Graham | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Jun 6, 2022 at 14:41 | comment | added | Graham | @Barmar To answer the OP more explicitly, I've added explanations of the parts of grammar. | |
| Jun 6, 2022 at 14:39 | history | edited | Graham | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Jun 6, 2022 at 14:35 | comment | added | Graham | @Barmar The OP clearly does not understand the meaning of the word "shy" in this context, as proven by their question. Until you understand this meaning of the word "shy", it is literally impossible to answer how "twice" is used because you are completely unable to parse the sentence. All other answers fail to cover this. | |
| Jun 6, 2022 at 14:25 | comment | added | Barmar | The question isn't about the meaning of "shy", it's about the way "twice" is used. | |
| Jun 6, 2022 at 13:29 | history | answered | Graham | CC BY-SA 4.0 |