Meaning of cringeometer | Babel Free

Definitions

An imaginary device that measures cringeworthiness (the extent to which something makes one cringe; that is, flinch or recoil with embarrassment).

humorous, informal, sarcastic

Examples

“My cringeometer went off the scale as I watched his excruciating performance.”

“How Does Your Dad Rate On The Cringe-O-Meter? [title]”

“But he [Gordon Brown] caused serious damage⟳ to the cringeometer in the build-up to the 2010 general election when he attacked the Conservative Party with a football chant: [...]”

“As the Prime Minister's spokesman put⟳ it the other day, this is an occasion for government ministers to "mix⟳ with the community" ("jinżlu fil-komunità"). Cringeometers off for a minute, the sleight is fascinating.”

“Again, with your cringeometer on, it's lucky, there's loads of brilliant actors, to work⟳ a lot is fantastic.”

“Not all social-media gimmicks are created equal and doubtless some of these were lapped up by the target⟳ audience, with their funny little avatars and chronic misuse of the verb 'to rustle'. The rest⟳ of us, though, might need⟳ to start⟳ recalibrating our cringeometers.”

“If Alpha Papa was your introduction to [Alan] Partridge, you'll be wanting to dig⟳ through the Parchives, pronto. (Just make⟳ sure cringe-o-meters are set⟳ to stun.)”

“For some reason⟳ my dining companion the Professor will insist on getting the chef out of the kitchen for a selfie at the end⟳ of this meal. To a person as socially inept as myself, this is almost as soaringly high on the cringeometer as his insistence on speaking Spanish to the Mexican waitress throughout the evening.”

“The cringe-o-meter peaks during a scene in which a shirtless [Charlie] Hall, well, masters his domain. Hall said he had no issue⟳ showing that scene to his mother [Julia Louis-Dreyfus], who played Elaine on "Seinfeld" for nine seasons.”

CEFR level