fight shy

== English == === Verb === fight shy (third-person singular simple present fights shy, present participle fighting shy, simple past and past participle fought shy) (idiomatic, intransitive) To avoid meeting at a close distance or at close quarters; to keep out of reach, to avoid. Synonym: steer clear ==== Usage notes ==== Followed by of to introduce object === References === “fight”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.