The idea of cringe is usually linked to the shame of others.
Cringe is a term that is not part of the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ). The concept comes from the English language, where it is used in relation to shrinking and shame .
Although it is a foreign word, in recent years it has been adopted by young people in Spanish-speaking countries . For this reason, it is often heard or read on social networks.
Cringe concept
The usual thing is that cringe is used to refer to feeling ashamed of others . Although its use is popular, the Urgent Spanish Foundation ( Fundéu BBVA ) recommends dispensing with its use and appealing to the idea of grima .
As for grima, it comes from the Gothic grimms , which can be translated as “horrible.” In the etymological development, antecedents also appear from other languages such as the Old High German grimmi (translatable as “hostile” ) and the Norse grimmr (related to the concept of “rabid” ).
Grima is also called dentera . Both refer to a feeling that is not pleasant or to envy . However, as we already indicated, the most common meaning of cringe in Spanish has to do with the shame of others.
If an individual experiences an uncomfortable or unpleasant sensation from another person, they can say that the person in question gives them cringe.
Its use
Feeling cringe, in short, implies discomfort . You can even find the verb cringear .
Suppose a young girl notices that a schoolmate often stares at her. The boy does not speak to her, but watches her insistently. Faced with this situation, the girl claims that the classmate in question makes her cringe: his attitude causes her a certain discomfort .
Another way to understand what cringe is is by linking the notion to something that “gives something” . This expression is subjective, since that feeling of “thing” is difficult to define or specify. Someone may comment that a clown performing a street show makes them cringe, while another person finds the same artist nice or funny.
The cringe comedy
It is interesting to mention the existence of a subgenre of comedy known as cringe comedy (or, in English, cringe comedy ). This is how proposals are classified whose actions take place in realistic or everyday environments, such as a house or an office, with characters with extravagant characteristics and social misfits.
Guilty pleasures, mockery of idiosyncrasies and the feeling of shame of others are some of the recurring themes or topics of these films or series. The protagonists usually do not respect social rules, adopting politically incorrect behavior.
“The Office”, “Give Ali G Show” y “Curb Your Enthusiasm” son productions audiovisuales muy populares que suelen enmarcarse en la comedia cringe.
a rock band
Finally, it should be noted that The Cringe is an American alternative rock band. The group was formed in New York City.
Led by John Cusimano , The Cringe has released several albums. Their latest album released to date is titled “Everywhere You've Never Been” , which consists of thirteen songs. Among the concerts of this group on different tours, their participation in different editions of the South by Southwest festival, known colloquially as SXSW , stands out.