gunshy
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English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]gunshy (comparative more gunshy, superlative most gunshy)
- Afraid to use a gun.
- Frightened by the sound of gunfire.
- 2007, Paul Long, Training Pointing Dogs, 2nd edition, page 38:
- But very few dogs become gunshy if they are introduced to the bang while they are overcome with the delight of chasing game, particularly if the trainer begins with a light noise and works up to louder noises in easy stages
- (figurative) Fearing the consequences of repeating an act, especially after being reprimanded.
- After his last suggestion was laughed at by his colleagues, he was gunshy about making another suggestion.
- 2013, Ben Yagoda, How to Not Write Bad: The Most Common Writing Problems and the Best Ways to Avoid Them[1], Penguin, →ISBN:
- However, some people are gun-shy about like and engage in the hoity toity lingo that's called “hypercorrection.”
- 2018, Mark Oliver Everett (lyrics and music), “There I Said It”, in The Deconstruction, performed by Eeels:
- You're gun shy / So am I / I understand with what you've been through