Crossword Genius

With refreshments to eat, your one-time previous experience bad enough? (5,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

twice shy

'previous experience bad enough?' is the definition.
(ref to the phrase 'once bitten, twice shy')

'with refreshments to eat your one-time' is the wordplay.
'with' becomes 'w' (abbreviation).
'refreshments' becomes 'ices' (an ice or ice cream is a type of refreshment).
'to eat' means one lot of letters goes inside another (word on the right has word on the left to eat).
'your one-time' becomes 'thy' ('thy' historically meant 'your').
'w'+'ices'='wices'
'wices' inserted within 'thy' is 'TWICE SHY'.

(Other definitions for twice shy that I've seen before include "'Once bitten, . . . . . . . .'" , "See 9" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.