New research by Brianna Escoe from the University of Louisiana and colleagues (2024) took a systematic approach to find out what cringe is. First of all, they established that we feel cringe when ...

“Cringe is not any one thing,” Ms. Ryan wrote in an effort to explain her use of the versatile term, “but you know it when you see it.” Sarah Diamond manages production for narrated articles.

Cringe made its national debut shortly after election night in 2016. You didn’t have to be a Trump fan in 2016 — Lord knows I wasn’t — to watch with horror as Kate McKinnon, one of the ...

By sharing the cringe, we form a team with others who are savvier than the cringy actor who’s trying hard and failing to impress. References Escoe, B., Martin, N., & Salerno, A. (2024) That’s ...