An idiom we all know

You have probably all heard the idiom “Once bitten, twice shy.“

My mother often said this. I do the same without really thinking about it.

It suggests that a bad first experience can make you cautious. You might feel worried about trying it again.

For example:

•  Justin never opens a text from anyone he doesn’t know after being scammed out of a lot of money - once bitten, twice shy.
•  After James was sick from drinking too much, he now only ever has two drinks at the most - once bitten, twice shy.
•  Debbie has become cautious about dating since her breakup with her boyfriend. It’s a case of once bitten, twice shy.

It is such a common saying (idiom) that many different languages have versions of it.

In Bengali, they say ন্যাড়া একবারই বেল তলায় যায় , which means if you get hit by a bel fruit, you will never stand under a bel tree again.

In Burmese, it’s တခါေသဘူးပ်ဥ္ဖိုးနားလည္။. A rough translation is: when you see someone die nearby, you’ll understand the value of wood for a coffin.

In Portuguese, “Gato escaldado tem medo de água fria” means a cat scalded by hot water fears cold water too. (Poor cat!)

It got me thinking from the dark corners of my brain about three personal examples where this was the case for me. They are almost too pronounced to be true, but that is me!

Never jump off a roof!

When I was about eight, I thought it was really cool to get up on the shed roof and throw berries at my sister in the garden (boy will be boys!).

My mother caught me oner day. “Get down off that roof right away,” she yelled from inside the kitchen. Not wanting her to find out where my secret spot was for getting on the roof.

I decided to jump off!

It wasn’t tall enough to cause much harm. I sprained my ankle and almost bit my lip off when I landed. It was truly a case of once bitten, twice shy. I have, thank goodness, never done it again.

Things that go up must come down!

Of equal stupidity was when, again around the same age. I found this round piece of tin. I tossed it into the air with both hands, like I was praying. Then, I caught it the same way, as if in prayer.

I should have been praying. As you might have gathered on one of these spins, I didn’t catch it quick enough. With my face underneath it, it came down and cut my top lip. I probably needed stitches but coming from a family of “She’ll be right mate!“. None were forthcoming.

Every time I stretched my lip, it opened up again. The worst part was that we were having pasta for dinner, which was one of my favorites, but I could not eat it. Once bitten, twice shy!

Light Up My Day

The final thing I thought about before quitting for some of the idiotic things I had done was many years later. It was certainly at an age when I should have known better.

I was putting up a picture on the wall in our new house. Without thinking or checking, I started drilling, only to hit a live electricity wire. It arced the drill bit and threw me about four feet backward. Luckily, nothing was behind me, and I was not up a ladder.

It is definitely a case of once bitten, twice shy. I am always very careful now when drilling.

If you think about it, I’m sure you have many tales where this idiom also applies. It is a great one to remember.

Till next time,

Calvin