I used to roll my eyes at people saying "cringe" for everything, but my 16 year old cousin finally showed me what the word actually means

He pointed out a video of a grown man doing a Fortnite dance at a wedding reception, and suddenly I got why that specific word fits. Has anyone else found a term they hated until someone showed them the right example?

3 comments

3 Comments

anna_ross191mo ago

Wait a FORTNITE DANCE at a WEDDING? That's next level painful. Must've taken serious willpower not to hide under the table.

joelh641mo ago

The Fortnite dance thing is just the tip of the iceberg honestly - the word "cringe" finally clicked for me when I saw a guy trying to flex his crypto wallet at a family dinner. It's that specific feeling when someone has zero awareness of the room they're in, and you're just stuck there watching it happen. Makes you realize there's a whole spectrum of social awkwardness that word covers better than anything else.

lewis.troy1mo ago

Is it really that deep though? Like ok yeah the Fortnite dance at a wedding is stupid and funny but I dunno if it hits that "cringe" level for me. Maybe I'm just old but I feel like people throw that word around for anything mildly awkward these days. There's a difference between someone being lame and someone genuinely making you feel secondhand pain.