▪ I. shy, n.1
(ʃaɪ)
Pl. shies.
[f. shy v.1]
A sudden start aside made by a horse when it sees an object that frightens it.
| 1791 ‘G. Gambado’ Ann. Horsem. ix. (1809) 106 [The horse] made a sort of a shy towards the cliff. 1857 Reade Course of True Love 166 In the middle of a great shy which her mare made. 1908 Edin. Rev. Oct. 472 We pass it by with a courteous bow which has in it something of a horse's shy at the uncanny. |
| fig. 1900 M. E. Wilkins Parson Lord 35 He has stepped along in his path of duty without a kick or a shy. |
▪ II. shy, n.2 colloq.
(ʃaɪ)
Also rare shie. Pl. shies.
[f. shy v.2]
1. a. A quick, jerking (or careless) throw, as of a stone, etc.
| 1791 Brand Pop. Antiq. (1813) I. 67 The person who throws..has three shys, or throws, for two pence. 1835 Dickens Sk. Boz. Greenwich Fair, Jack-in-the-box—three shies a penny. 1849 W. S. Mayo Kaloolah ii. (1850) 25 Swinging his cap round his head, he gave it a shie over the lee quarter. 1854 W. Collins Hide & Seek I. vii. 194, I never remember wanting to throw a rotten egg at any of my fellow-creatures before—but I feel certain that I should enjoy having a shy at Mr. Jubber! 1859 Jephson Brittany xv. 245 When he was a boy, he..used to think it good fun to have a ‘shy’ at these windows. |
b. Eton Football. A point scored in the ‘Wall’ game (see quot. 1881).
| 1868 Field 28 Nov. 446/3 This match..ended in favour of the School by five shies to nothing. 1881 Pascoe's Everyday Life Public Schools 54 Once behind this [calx] line, the player's object is to get it [the ball] up..with his foot against the wall and touch, when he gets a ‘shy’; that is, the privilege of throwing the ball at the goals, while the other side..defend them. Of course, if he succeeds in reaching the goals, he gets a goal... More generally the game is decided by the number of ‘shies’ got. |
2. fig. a. An attempt to damage by sarcasm or verbal attack; a ‘fling’ at a person or thing.
| 1840 De Quincey Mod. Superst. Wks. 1862 III. 313 If Rousseau thought fit to try such tremendous appeals by taking ‘a shy’ at any random object, he should have governed his sortilege..with something more like equity. 1854 Thackeray Newcomes xvi, ‘You are always having a shy at Lady Ann and her relations’, says Mr. Newcome... ‘A shy! How can you use such vulgar words, Mr. Newcome?’ 1859 De Quincey Pref. Memor. Wks. 1862 X. p. xvii, The Doctor..resolved to ‘take a shy’, before parting, at the most consecrated of Milton's creations. 1873 B. Harte Washington in N. Jersey in Fiddletown, etc. 94 I'd like to get a shy at G. W. some time. |
b. A trial, an experiment; a ‘shot’, a ‘go’.
| 1824 P. Egan Boxiana IV. 149 ‘I am sure you are too generous to let a brave man want; and I never knew an appeal made here in vain.’ ‘Well then, go it’ echoed one of the East-enders; ‘I like to have a shy for my money.’ Half crowns, shillings and sixpences were instantly thrown upon the stage. 1848 Thackeray Let. in Introd. to Pendennis Wks. 1898 II. p. xxxiv, Sometimes I have a shy myself, and I don't lose or win twenty francs. 1857 Dickens Dorrit ii. vi, He would be all the better for a temporary shy at an entirely new scene and climate. 1881 C. Gibbon Heart's Probl. vi. (1884) 86 Have a shy at putting the case plainly to me. 1887 Henley Culture in Slums iii. 7 I've had at Pater many a shy. |
3. a. One who throws, a thrower or shyer.
| 1884 Lillywhite's Cricket Ann. 103 A good field and shy. |
b. coconut shy: see coco, cocoa 4 e.
▪ III. shy, a.
(ʃaɪ)
Forms: 1 scéoh (? inflected sc{iacu}on), 3 scheouh, scheowe, 5 schey, 6 shey, 7–8 shie, shye, 7– shy.
[OE. scéoh (very rare; also in comb. scéohmód of timid mind), corresp. to MHG. schiech:—OTeut. type *skeuhwo-; an ablaut variant (OTeut. type *sku{supg}wu-, -wjo-) appears in MDu. schuwe, schu (mod.Du. schuw), Norw. dial. skygg, MSw., Da. sky; the synonymous mod.G. scheu is a new formation after the related scheu fem. (MHG. schiuhe) fear, abhorrence, scheuen to be shy of, fear (MHG. schiuhen to be shy of, avoid, also causatively to drive away, OHG. sciuhen to frighten); f. Teut. root *skeuhw- to fear, to terrify, whence prob. G. schüchtern shy; for other derivatives of the root see shewel. The affinities that have been suggested for the root are very doubtful.
The phonetic development of mod.E. shy (ʃaɪ) from OE. scéoh is parallel with that of thigh from þéoh. Divergent forms in dialects are shuff (:—OE. sceōh with rising diphthong) and skeigh (with unexplained initial). It is noteworthy that the pronunciation (ɔɪ) is current in many dialects in which (ɔɪ) does not ordinarily correspond to the (aɪ) of standard Eng.]
1. † a. Easily frightened or startled. Obs.
| c 1000 Riming Poem 43 (Gr.) Nu min hreþer is hreoh heowsiþum [read heofsiþum] sceoh nydbysᵹum neah. a 1225 Ancr. R. 242 Lokeð þet ȝe ne beon nout iliche þe horse þet is scheouh, & blencheð uor one scheadewe... To scheowe heo beoð mid alle þet fleoð uor ane peinture. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 444/2 Schey, or skey, as hors, or styȝtyl. 1648 Hexham ii. s.v. Schouw, Een Schouw paerdt, A Shye Horse, a Fearefull Horse. |
b. dial. Of a horse: Skittish, unmanageable; high-mettled. Hence (?) of persons (see quot. 1840).
Cf. the OE. gloss ‘scion, peculantis’ (read petulantis as in Aldhelm De Laud. Virg. 4705, to which the gloss refers) in Wr.-Wülcker 517/16.
| 1787 W. H. Marshall Norfolk (1795) II. 388 Shy, hare-brained; high-mettled; head-strong; as wild colts, &c. 1840 Spurdens Suppl. to Forby, Shy, wild in conduct... A shy boy, or a shy girl is wanton, unsteady, amorous. 1860 Hotten's Slang Dict. s.v., Shy has also the sense of flighty, unsteady, untrustworthy. |
2. Easily frightened away; difficult of approach owing to timidity, caution, or distrust; timidly or cautiously averse to encountering or having to do with some specified person or thing; suspicious, distrustful. Const. of. a. of persons.
| 1600 Hakluyt Voy. III. 391 Certaine souldiers..caried away captiue certaine of the people of the countrey, which caused the rest of them to be so shey and fearefull. 1606 Warner Alb. Eng. xvi. cv. 412 This noble lustie Gentleman..Grew thenceforth shie of Women, and a Timon vnto men. 1622 S. Ward Life of Faith 48 Yet is it but our folly to be so shye of this sight, for though [etc.]. a 1639 Wotton Parallel Essex & Buckhm. Reliq. (1651) 11 Princes..are (by wisdome of State) somwhat shye of their Successors. 1660 N. Ingelo Bentiv. & Ur. ii. (1682) 24 We should not be so shie of Death, for it is the only passage to Immortal Life. 1683 Cave Ecclesiastici, Athanasius 53 Men generally became more shy of his acquaintance. 1687 Norris Poems 36 But when we come to seize th'inviting prey, Like a Shy Ghost, it vanishes away. 1702 De Foe Shortest Way Dissenters 27 The primitive Christians were not more shie of a Heathen-Temple, or of Meat offer'd to Idols,..than [etc.]. 1718 Ockley Saracens (1848) 446 Abdallah was still shy of him, and did not employ him in any considerable post. 1824 Byron Juan xvi. xxxvi, The spectre has grown shyer. 1834 Dickens Sk. Boz, Boarding Ho. ii, Since the catastrophe recorded in the last chapter, Mrs. Tibbs had been very shy of young-lady boarders. 1885 [W. H. White] M. Rutherford's Deliv. iv. (ed. 9) 52 The women in the countryside were shy of her. 1903 C. E. Osborne Father Dolling ii. (1905) 21 He thought he could do more good as a layman, especially with young men, as so many of the latter are ‘shy’ of the clergy. |
b. of an animal, bird, etc.
| 1674 Ray S. & E.C. Words 76 Shie or shy, apt to startle and flee from you, or that keeps off and will not come near. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. (1699) I. 70 They [flamingoes] are very shy, therefore it is hard to shoot them. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. iv. 157 This place..abounds with goats, who, not being accustomed to be disturbed, were no ways shy or apprehensive of danger. Ibid. iii. ii. 309 The cattle..were not shy of us. 1772 T. Simpson Vermin Killer 20 Some have a notion that crows are shy of powder. 1816 Tuckey Narr. Exped. R. Zaire i. (1818) 31 Some covies of guinea fowl were seen, but too shy to be shot at. 1863 W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting iv. 99 They [sea-cows] were very shy, and showed poor heads. 1867 F. Francis Angling i. (1880) 58 If the fish remain shy, leave the swim for a couple of hours. 1908 [Miss E. Fowler] Betw. Trent & Ancholme 34 The robin is more shy. |
c. to be or look shy on or at: to regard with distrust or suspicion.
| 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. iii. viii, The very Courtiers looked shy at it. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xiii, Hulker & Bullock are looking shy at him. 1872 Geo. Eliot Middlem. vi, How will you like going to Sessions with everybody looking shy on you? |
d. As last element in Combs.: frightened (of), averse or reluctant (to).
| 1884, etc. [see gun-shy a.]. 1928, etc. [see work-shy adj. s.v. work n. 34]. 1934, etc. [see book-shy adj. s.v. book n. 19]. 1938 Amer. Speech XIII. 188/1 Needle-shy, a phobia..which manifests itself in a revulsion against using the hypodermic needle or seeing it used. 1972 Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 28 Oct. 33/3 The extent to which rather sophisticated people remain telephone-shy is remarkable. 1972 Guardian 24 Nov. 32/1 Traffic shy commuters. |
3. a. Fearful of committing oneself to a particular course of action; chary, unwilling, reluctant. Const. of, in, about, at, and to with infinitive.
| a 1628 Preston Breastpl. Faith (1630) 29 Be not thou shye in taking of him; for you have free liberty. 1633 G. Herbert Temple, Brit. Ch. vii, She..is so shie of dressing, that her hair doth lie About her eares. 1638 Sanderson Serm. (1681) II. 98 They that are guiltiest of folly, are the shiest to own it. c 1645 Howell Lett. (1655) I. iii. xxviii. 148 His Majesty..desir'd them..now that they had detected the Treason, to discover also the Traytors; but they were shy in that point. 1663 Butler Hud. i. i. 46 Although he had much Wit, H' was very shie of using it. 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing 81, I..have as good an Opinion of these Rules, as those have that are shyest of discovering theirs. 1711 G. Hickes Two Treat. Chr. Priesth. (1847) II. 395 Why then are you so shy in owning their rectoral power? 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull i. viii, A stinking ulcer, which made everybody shy to come near her. 1742 Blair Grave 514 That stood aloof, as shy to meet. 1815 Scott Guy M. xxx, The local magistrates, from timidity or worse motives, have become shy of acting against them. 1817 Jas. Mill Brit. India v. v. II. 506 Distrust of the English power, now violently shaken, made his father shy. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xviii, Be shy of loving frankly. 1859 Dickens T. Two Cities i. ii, In those days, travellers were very shy of being confidential on a short notice. 1890 W. Booth Darkest Engl. ii. v. 190 Families are naturally shy at receiving these poor unfortunates. 1913 Jane E. Harrison Anc. Art & Ritual iv. 91 Some of us now-a-days are getting a little shy of deliberately cursing our neighbours on Ash Wednesday. 1940 Ann. Reg. 1939 362 So much money had already been lost..that investors were shy. |
b. Averse from admitting (a principle), or from considering (a subject). Const. of.
| 1641 ‘Smectymnuus’ Vind. Answ. vi. 84 That which the Remonstrant would perswade his reader we are shie of. a 1645 Laud Hist. Troubles iii. (1695) 106, I see too, that too many Men are shye of Good Works. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ ii. vi. §16 The present Jews..are grown very shy of the argument drawn from thence. 1662 H. More Philos. Writ. (1712) Pref. Gen. p. xx, At which Timidity of mine, none can justly wonder that considers how shie the ancient Fathers were of the Globosity of the Earth. 1676 Glanvill Ess. i. 26 Nor are we shy of their Informations, because they were hid from Ages. 1678 Cudworth Intell. Syst. Pref., So far from being shy of such an Hypothesis, as that they were even Fond thereof. |
c. Phrases. † to make shy of: to be shy of, to be afraid of (doing). to fight shy: see fight v. 9.
| 1638 Featly Strict. Lyndom. i. 152 They made shie of reading Scripture, for feare of being made Heretiques thereby. |
† d. shy of oneself: unwilling to expose oneself.
| 1722 De Foe Plague (1756) 103, I was..now to thrust myself in among so many People, who for some Weeks, had been so shye of myself, that if I met any Body in the Street, I would cross the Way from them. |
† 4. Cautiously reserved; wary in speech or action. Obs.
| 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iii. ii. 138 A shie fellow was the Duke. Ibid. v. i. 54 As shie, as graue..As Angelo. a 1691 Wood Life (O.H.S.) I. 152 He..found him very shie; but..he was very free afterwards in his communications. |
5. a. Shrinking from self-assertion; sensitively timid; retiring or reserved from diffidence; bashful.
| 1672 Villiers (Dk. Buckhm.) Rehearsal iii. ii (Arb.) 75 Shie Maid. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia iv. vi, But shy, quite too shy; no drawing her out. 1845 Disraeli Sybil v. vii, A little shy at first, but he only wants bringing out. 1859 Habits Gd. Society 29 People too shy or too stupid to talk. 1884 F. M. Crawford Rom. Singer I. 87 Nino is not a shy boy. |
| transf. 1823 Wordsw. Sonn., ‘Not Love, not War’ 14 The flower of sweetest smell is shy and lowly. |
b. of a person's actions, etc.
| 1713 Addison Guard, No. 100 ¶8 The Venus de Medicis..is represented in such a shy retiring posture, and covers her bosom with one of her hands. 1722 Steele Consc. Lovers iii. i, All your Skittishness, shy Looks, and at best but coy Compliances. 1852 Thackeray Esmond i. i, Performing a shy obeisance to the mistress of his house. |
c. fig.
| 1641 Milton Animadv. Wks. 1851 III. 191 Such an Anatomie of the shiest and tenderest particular truths. 1874 Green Short Hist. vii. §7. 412 The shy revival of English letters during the earlier half of Elizabeth's reign. 1878 Browning La Saisiaz 27 Had but fortune favored, bidden each shy faculty advance. 1878 B. Taylor Deukalion ii. v. 88 The earth, in her shy embraces, Conceals the traces Of the secret birth of the Stream. |
d. transf. Of a place, etc.: Retiring, secluded.
| 1822–56 De Quincey Conf. Wks. 1862 I. 226 note, Shy recesses of the lake. 1841 Dickens Barn. Rudge iv, It was a modest dwelling—but a shy blinking house. 1853 M. Arnold Scholar Gypsy viii, A heap of flowers Pluck'd in shy fields and distant Wychwood bowers. 1885 Lowell Coleridge Writ. 1890 VI. 72 He was the first to observe some of the sky's appearances and some of the shyer revelations of outward nature. 1899 C. G. Harper Exeter Road 124 These places are all shy and retiring, tucked away up bye-lanes. |
6. In various transferred uses of sense 2. a. Of plants, trees, etc.: Unprolific, not bearing well. Also rarely of birds: Not breeding freely.
| 1823 J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. 47 The golden pippin has gradually become a shy grower in this country. 1836 C. P. Traill Backwoods Canada xiv. 246 The plant..seems to be a shy blossomer. 1852 Beck's Florist 193 It is rather a shy bearer, though it blooms very profusely. 1869 Lowell Study Wind., Gard. Acquaint. (1871) 7 A small foreign grape-vine, rather shy of bearing. 1905 P. C. Mitchell Offic. Guide Gard. Zool. Soc. (ed. 3) 7 An excellent table⁓bird but a shy breeder. 1905 Rider Haggard Gard. Yr. July 239 They are shy flowerers. |
b. U.S. Short (of), lacking. Also const. on. Betting slang (see quot. 1895).
| 1895 Funk's Stand. Dict. s.v., Having a less amount of money at stake than is called for by the rules of the game; short; as, to be shy a dollar in the pool. 1896 S. Crane Little Regiment etc. 187 None..knew how an orderly sergeant ranked, but then it was understood to be somewhere just shy of a major-general's stars. 1897 Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch 21 Sept. 5/4 The police department is much too shy of funds already. 1903 [see long green s.v. long a.1 A. 18]. a 1904 A. Adams Log of Cowboy ix. 132, I ordered Joe to tie his [the ox's] mate behind the trail wagon and pull out one ox shy. 1975 R. Stout Family Affair (1976) iv. 46, I merely thought some women were a little shy on brains, present company not excepted. |
7. colloq. or slang in uses derived from sense 5. a. Of questionable character, disreputable, ‘shady’.
| 1849 Thackeray Pendennis xxv, Rather a shy place for a sucking county member. 1860 Dickens Uncomm. Trav. x, Nothing in shy neighbourhoods perplexes my mind more. 1864 H. J. Byron Paid in Full v, Hadn't shy turf-transactions been more than hinted at? 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. i. xii, The two men, very shy characters. 1869 J. Roberts Billiards 254 Shell out is a ‘shy’ game for a public room. 1908 Blackw. Mag. Feb. 252/2 Gambling hells and shy saloons. |
b. Doubtful in amount or quality.
| 1821 D. Haggart Life 39 Although I had not been idle during these three months, I found my blunt getting shy. 1850 Thackeray Contrib. to Punch Wks. 1900 VI. 165 That uncommonly shy supper of dry bread and milk-and-water. 1862 ― Philip xix, The dinner, I own, is shy, unless I come and dine with my friends. 1865 M. Lemon Loved at Last ix, Any place will do, as her geography is rather shy, and I can make her believe anything. |
8. dial. Of the wind: a. Chill, keen, piercing. b. ‘Not exactly fair for the ship's course’ (Whitby Gloss., 1876). See Eng. Dial. Dict.
[The origin of sense a is not clear; it may be a distinct word. Sense b seems a natural development from 2.]
| 1828 [Carr] Craven Gloss., Shy, keen, piercing. ‘A shy wind’. 1891 Century Dict. Shy a., Scant. The wind is said to be shy when it will barely allow a vessel to sail on her course. |
9. Comb. as shy-breeding, shy-eyed, shy-footed, shy-looking, shy-making, shy-retiring, etc. adjs.; shy-brightly adv.
| 1842 Loudon Suburban Hort. 447 The *shy-breeding black sorts. |
| 1922 Joyce Ulysses 205 Eglintoneyes..looked up *shybrightly. |
| 1910 J. Masefield Ballads & Poems 80 The *shy-eyed delicate deer. 1952 R. Finlayson Schooner came to Atia 118 Shy-eyed kiddies ran out to look. |
| 1917 J. Masefield Lollingdow Downs 86 *Shy-footed beauty dear. |
| 1879 Alexina M. Ruthquist in Mem. (1893) 95 His *shy-looking wife. |
| 1930 E. Waugh Vile Bodies ii. 19, I shall just ring up every Cabinet Minister and all the newspapers and give them all the most *shy-making details. 1940 M. Allingham Black Plumes xv. 175 Great heroism, like great cowardice, is shy-making, and they were all..embarrassed. 1974 Listener 21 Nov. 677/1 Dr Ray rightly quotes enough of their shy-making exchanges. |
| 1742 Blair Grave 328 From stubborn shrubs Thou wrung'st their *shy-retiring virtues out, And vex'd them in the fire. |
▪ IV. shy, v.1
(ʃaɪ)
Also 7 shie, shye.
[f. shy a.]
OE. had app. a vb. sc{yacu}han, sc{yacu}an to take fright (= sense 3 below) f. the adj. = OHG. schiuhen. Cf. the following quot.:
c 1000 ælfric Lives Saints xxxi. 971 Þa scyddon [MS. K. scyhdon] þa mulas þe þæt cræt tuᵹon, ðurh his to-cyme afyrhte.]
1. intr. To take a sudden fright or aversion; to make a difficulty, ‘boggle’ about doing something; to recoil, shrink. Const. at, from: rarely to with infinitive. Now usually felt as transf. from 2.
| 1650 B. Discolliminium 40 Why [do] they shye so strangely at this new Ingagement? 1778 S. Crisp 8 Dec. in Mme. D'Arblay's Diary (1891) I. 93, I mean such freedoms as ladies of the strictest character..perhaps would shy at being known to be the authors of. 1783 F. Burney Diary 19 June, He was too well-bred to force himself upon me, and finding I shied, he left me alone. a 1814 Word of Honor iii. i. in New Brit. Theatre I. 364 A man who loves another's wife, Will never shy to take a wife himself To screen his base intrigue. 1838 Lytton Alice v. ii, The more publicity is given to this arrangement, the more difficult for Evelyn to shy at the leap. 1889 May Crommelin & Brown V. Vyvian II. xv. 248 She is shying from the thought. 1911 Barrie Peter & Wendy v. 81 The only thing he shied at was the sight of his own blood. 1912 E. Glyn Halcyone xxvii. 245 He was not buried in that outer circle of oblivion from which the thoughts unconsciously shy. |
2. Of a horse: To shrink or start back or aside through sudden fear. Const. at, rarely from.
| 1796 J. Lawrence Treat. Horse I. 166 Thorough-bred hacks are..the least liable to shy of all others. 1823 Scott Quentin D. ix, The horse shyed from the boar. 1861 Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. III. 217 There is no use in being ill-humoured because a young horse shies. 1879 Beerbohm Patagonia 20 [The horse] stumbled on, occasionally shying wildly at the glimmering whiteness of some heap of bleached guanaco bones. 1897 Encycl. Sport I. 342/1 (Driving) Shy, to spring suddenly either sideways or backwards from fear, or from excess of spirits. |
3. to shy off (rarely to shy out of something, to shy away); To slip away in order to avoid a person or thing; fig. to find a means of evasion.
| 1792 Elvina I. 38 We are obliged to shy off. 1843 Miall in Nonconformist III. 209 Men who desire to get rid of the question..shy off, with wonderful dexterity from all allusions to it. 1856 Masson Ess. iv. 101 The style of poetry..as all modern readers confess by the alacrity with which they shy out of the way of reprinted specimens of it [etc.]. 1867 A. J. Wilson Vashti xiii, His blue eyes rather shied away from mine. 1894 A. Robertson Nuggets 111 Elsie was shying off from Alec. |
4. trans. To shun or avoid (a person, thing, or immaterial thing).
| 1802 Bentham Mem. & Corr. Wks. 1843 X. 399, I am inclined to suspect he shies the subject. 1806 T. S. Surr Winter in Lond. II. 75 He has shied me lately. 1830 Fonblanque Eng. under 7 Administr. (1837) II. 50 His Grace [Wellington] had shyed the City Feast, being frightened by a Donkey. 1834 Marryat P. Simple xxxv, Troubridge..was not a man to shy his work. 1872 A. Gray Lett. II. 623, I shy or refuse such applications generally. |
b. Pugilism.
| 1812 Sporting Mag. XXXIX. 22 It struck us that the Black shyed his adversary. 1819 Ibid. n.s. IV. 236 He had too much of the Teddy Tay spirit about him to wince or shy it. |
5. To render timid or shy; to frighten off.
| 1845 Youatt Dog iii. 84 A rate given at an improper time..disgusts the honest hound, it shies and prevents from hunting the timid one. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xxii. (1856) 173 A little projection of the main field to windward shied them off. |
Hence ˈshying vbl. n. and ppl. a.
| 1796 J. Lawrence Treat. Horse I. 81 This was not the effect of starting or shying, to which she [the mare] was at no rate addicted. 1869 J. H. Newman in W. Ward Life (1912) II. 257, I hope my shying, as I do, will not keep you from speaking out. a 1900 Duke of Argyll Autobiog. (1906) II. 82 They seemed to go suddenly mad, like shying horses or stampeded mules. |
▪ V. shy, v.2 Chiefly colloq.
(ʃaɪ)
Also 8 shie.
[Of obscure origin.
The earliest use suggests that it may have arisen in some way from the expression shy cock.]
1. intr. To throw a missile, esp. carelessly or by a jerk. Const. at.
| 1787 Bentham Def. Usury xiii. 164 He looks upon it as a sort of cock for him..to shie at. 1790 Grose Prov. Gloss. (ed. 2), Shie, or Shy. To shy at a cock, to throw at a cock with a stick. Kent. 1820 J. H. Reynolds Fancy (1906) 34 I've shy'd with stick, to win a bit The backy-box of brown japan. 1840 De Quincey Mod. Superst. Wks. 1862 III. 313 To shy at a cow within six feet distance. 1851 Thackeray Stray Papers (1901) 269 Raikes..justly prided himself upon shying at the sticks better than any man in the army. 1889 Bodley in 19th Cent. Nov. 801 The Anglo-Saxon race alone is capable of propelling a missile in the method known as ‘shying’. |
2. a. trans. To fling, throw, jerk, toss; also with at, etc.
| 1793 W. B. Stevens Jrnl. 26 Mar. (1965) i. 74 It was but the other day he thought that every man ought to shy Jack Dawson from their Houses and Lo now he is his dear friend. 1828 Egan Boxiana IV. 159 The Birmingham Youth..also shied his castor with a confident air. 1831 E. J. Trelawny Adv. Younger Son vii, He then shyed his gold-laced cocked hat. 1835 Marryat Jacob Faithful xxxiii, I wish he hadn't shied the cat at her. 1853 ‘C. Bede’ Verdant Green i. viii, When you came to shy empty bottles..he couldn't stand that sort of game. 1857 Reade Never Too Late xv, He..shied the pieces of glass carefully over the wall. 1874 G. Walch Head over Heels 74 We could shy up our caps for a feller. 1880 Mrs. Parr Adam & Eve 233 Her own glass and its contents were shyed to the other end of the room. 1886 G. Allen Maimie's Sake xviii, I shied the stuff away. |
b. transf. and fig.
| 1827 Scott Jrnl. 26 Mar., I cannot keep up with the world without shying a letter now and then. 1860 Sir H. Acland in J. B. Atlay Mem. (1903) 290 Washington..has a few palaces shied down upon a rubbishy heath. 1868 Helps Realmah (1876) 245 He would merely shy barbarous words, half-Latin, half-Greek at us. 1882 H. C. Merivale Faucit of B. II. ii. ii. 161 Then you bolted from Oxford, and shied up your fellowship. |