"Kate was so shocked by what Toyota did that she said she'd never buy one of their cars again. Once bitten, twice _____."
07.03.2010
coy
6% (24 votes)
stung
33% (127 votes)
bitten
19% (74 votes)
shy
41% (156 votes)
Total votes: 381
And the correct answer is shy. The idiom "once bitten, twice shy" means that one is more careful in the future if one has been hurt in the past. The word "shy" here means afraid, as in a horse "shies" away from danger, not the more modern meaning of being uneasy in front of strangers.
Subscribe to the free Spotlight Online e-mail newsletter and you'll get one short e-mail from us every Tuesday. The newsletter contains a summary of what's new on our website as well as a useful idiom, explained and translated.
Einmal und nie wieder! Gebranntes Kind scheut das Feuer.
zurückscheuen vor
