shies

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of shy.

   A nervous mare shies at the slightest movement in the hedge.

   He shies from confrontation whenever the topic turns political.

   Note

   Two very different actions share this present-tense form. A nervous horse shies when it starts back in fear, and a person shies a stone when flinging it sideways. The first takes no object and pairs with at or from (shies at the noise, shies from a quarrel), while the second takes a direct object. The same spelling also serves as the plural noun for throws.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of shy.

   After several wild shies, the ball finally struck the stack of tins.

   The carnival booth gave each player five shies for a dollar.

   Note

   One plural spelling covers several quite different events. Shies can be throws at a target, a horse's sudden starts aside, points scored in the Eton College wall game, or, in Scottish football and shinty, two-handed throw-ins and restarts from the sideline. The y changes to ies, as in flies and cries, and the surrounding sport or animal usually tells you which kind of shy is meant.

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