在今天的视频会议上，我们一起讨论了一个proposal (提议，提案)，其中有这样一句话：
Although the immigrant population represents just shy of 6% of the region’s population, it is nonetheless…
翻译：尽管移民人口占该地区人口不足6%, 但它仍然是……
这句话中的shy是什么意思？
shy 是个形容词，常见意思是“胆怯的，腼腆的，怕生的”，大家对这些意思都比较熟悉。
然而，在上面这个句子中，shy 却有不同的含义。我们一起看看shy的其它常用意思吧。
欠缺，不足，未达到，不够
英文释义：
slightly less than, slightly earlier than, or a short distance from something, short of
用法：
不用于名词前 [not before noun]，常和of 搭配使用，(be) shy (of sth)
例句：
He died before Christmas, only a month shy of his 90th birthday.
他在圣诞节前去世了，仅差一个月就满90岁。
She was one week shy of her twentieth birthday when she got married. 她结婚时离二十岁生日还有一个星期。
We are still two players shy (of a full team). 我们还缺两名队员(凑成一支队)。
…a high-school dropout [ˈdrɒpaʊt] (辍学者, 退学者) rate just shy of 55%. 几近55％的中学辍学率
That is a big improvement, and just shy of the record in 2018. 这是一大进步，只比2018年的创纪录差一点。
躲避的，不喜欢…的
英文释义：avoiding or not liking the thing mentioned
用法：常用来构成合成词 (compounds)
例子：
camera-shy = not liking to be photographed, unwilling or afraid to be photographed or filmed. 不爱照相的, 不愿或害怕被拍照
work-shy 躲避工作的，偷懒的
He’s always been work-shy. 他总是偷懒。
work-shy 的近义词
最后，和大家分享一个谚语。
Once bitten, twice shy. 一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳
英文释义：
after an unpleasant experience, you are careful to avoid sth similar
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