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KatiMorton Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary

shy of...?

We can say a person is 2 years shy of 100 years old.
Can I say:
There's only two students shy of a hundred students (meaning if there had 2 more students, there would be 100 students).
I have only 2 points shy of the cut-off score of passing this subject (meaning if I had 2 more points, I wouldn't have flunked this subject).

Thanks in advance.
  

Top answer

Use these: The class is only two students shy of a hundred. My grade on the test was 2 points shy of the cut-off passing grade.

— AlpheccaStars

  • Use these: The class is only two students shy of a hundred.
  • My grade on the test was 2 points shy of the cut-off passing grade.
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8 Answers
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Use these:

The class is only two students shy of a hundred.
My grade on the test was 2 points shy of the cut-off passing grade.
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AlpheccaStarsUse these:The class is only two students shy of a hundred. My grade on the test was 2 points shy of the cut-off passing grade.
Thanks, but is it common to use those? I guess it's relatively rare to use the phrase "shy of", isn't it? Because I've never heard of this phrase until today.
Which is more common? "The class is only two students shy o
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I hear it quite often, though not every day. My favorite use is in a negative description of someone's mental abilities: She's just one brick shy of a load; he's just one sandwich shy of a picnic. Shy of could be replaced by short of.
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PhilipShe's just one brick shy of a load; he's just one sandwich shy of a picnic.
What do these mean? What's a load of brick or a picnic have to do with a person?
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They are figurative expressions meaning that the person isn't "all there" - not mentally complete.
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http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/shy

Also: He's not playing with a full deck. (His brain is shy of a few cells.)

The idiom "shy of" is not very common, but most native speakers know what it means.
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PhilipThey are figurative expressions meaning that the person isn't "all there" - not mentally complete.
I see how good at sardonicism native speakers are.
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KatiMorton PhilipThey are figurative expressions meaning that the person isn't "all there" - not mentally complete.I see how good at sardonicism native speakers are.
For some it's a blessing; for others it's a curse.
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