fighting shy

Verb

fight shy (third-person singular simple present fights shy, present participle fighting shy, simple past and past participle fought shy)

1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To avoid meeting at a close distance or at close quarters; to keep out of reach, to avoid.
   • Maybe she is imprisoned there and cannot get out: it would be a terrible fate, would it not, Signorina? Me, I think it is better to fight shy of the heathen gods."1903, Margaret Sherwood, Daphne, an Autumn Pastoral

   Synonyms:

   steer clear