Odds and Sods: Men To Avoid – The Shy One

He’s got a personality beneath those red cheeks.

Case number: 019

Title: The Shy One

Also known as: The Bashful One

You know he's The Shy One because: Well, to be perfectly honest, you don’t know he’s The Shy One at all. He’s that quiet, you don’t even know he’s there. He’s the one who is part of a group of mates he’s known since primary school, the one who is only comfortable when surrounded by people he knows – and even then he doesn’t say much. The thing is, he’s a sweet, lovely bloke and you just don’t know it because he’s that quiet.

The Shy One watches carefully and takes in everything
about the woman he fancies. He waits…and waits…and then he bottles it and heads back to the bar for some more Dutch courage by which point the object of his desire has got off with his mate.

Traits: If he does actually get close to you to tell you that he likes you, the first thing you’ll notice is his flaming red cheeks. And you’d be forgiven for thinking that he has a stammer naturally as the mere sight of you leaves him tongue-tied.

Although the more impatient ladies among us might overlook the meek little bloke in the corner, those who give him a chance to
introduce himself might well be pleasantly surprised. Of course, noticing him is a big deal, and then there’s the issue of whether he actually does fancy you or not, which is not that easy to figure out when he’s not really giving much away.

And there we have our problem with The Shy One. Lovely though he might be, once you’ve got past that initial first-date, first-kiss situation, it takes a painstaking amount of time to figure him out. Because his shyness has far reaches and it takes someone strong personality-wise to unleash the real man behind the mild manners and bashful nature.

Most likely to say: Not a lot, really. Every time you try to chat to him he goes all embarrassed and tries to change the subject and/ or runs away.

Typical conversation:

Girlfriend: ‘Do you like this restaurant?’

The Shy One: ‘Yeah. Oh, um…do you like it though?’

What The Shy One Means: ‘Don’t ask me questions, I worry that you think my answers wont be good enough and that you’re too lovely to see what a foolish choice of restaurant this is. You’re so lovely. I like you so much.’

Celebrity Shy Ones: David Beckham admitted in his autobiography that he suffers from painful shyness. We can fix that Mr B, all you have to do is ask!

Toxic boy rating: Sweet but silent, it can take a lot of patience getting this one to open up 5/10

Verdict: You want to know all there is to know about your other half. It will take a while to figure out this boy.