4 ms·

I guess I'm getting old. I read the article and the comment here, and have no idea what you're all talking about.

pferde 7y ago
Yep, me neither. The best I can tell is that it's a new children's term. If a kid says "that's cringe", it means "I don't like that".
- Neekerer 7y ago
  ok boomer
  - kls 7y ago
    given that he/she is on HN, my assumption would be that they are a Gen-X'er at the earliest. Gen-X'ers saw and built the dawn of the internet/web so they still hold life outside the web in high regard and while we "get" a lot of the tech life stuff, we find participation to not be as important as younger generations. Then there is just stuff we don't see the point in, not that it's not important, rather it's just lost in generation translation.
    - pferde 7y ago
      I'm sorry, I'm not from USA, so these US-centric tribal designations do not mean anything to me. I'm in my late 30s, if it helps.
      - kls 7y ago
        lat 30's would place you as a gen-x'er IIRC gen-X ran from 61 to 81. https://www.kasasa.com/articles/generations/gen-x-gen-y-gen-z https://www.kasasa.com/articles/generations/gen-x-gen-y-gen-...
  - Invictus0 7y ago
    This is not even a correct use of the meme, you are now cringe.
  - viridian 7y ago
    cringe
- throwawaylolx 7y ago
  Feels like OP spends significant time in some sorts of Twitter bubble ("Being blocked by someone you never heard of is a common experience online" ?) and either overestimates how prevalent his situation is or the post was not intended for a general audience.
workthrowaway 7y ago
it's not just you. i am, i think, "that" generation and i have no idea what this is all about. the word "cringe" is overused, we should "cancel" it.
- lasagnaphil 7y ago
  And I'm just incredibly awed at how meta this comment section can get...
vorpalhex 7y ago
The author is using a trick from philosophy - taking an existing word (in this case: cringe) and redefining it in a new expansive way somewhat related to its original meaning. Whereas it originally might mean "an involuntary reaction to something embarrassing" the author seems to intend for it to mean "embarrassing, self unaware, shallow, vapid" with the added comprehension that cringe is a rank-able thing - someone is always more "cringe" then you.
- gcbw3 7y ago
  The author is also a New America Fellow, so they must use a trick from any center-right academic fellow to publish center-right articles to be picked by center-right journals every now and then (and then be misquoted as munition to "based" arguments on fringe social media)
  - vorpalhex 7y ago
    It sounds like you're bringing partisan lean into something fundamentally non-partisan. The original piece is somewhat left of center (though still firmly moderate imo) though my comment applies to many different and diverse scholars from very different partisan leans and is a pedagogical practice in nature.
klyrs 7y ago
Cringe is being used as a noun, here. If something makes you feel embarrassed, or makes others embarrassed on your behalf, that's cringe. The reasons behind that embarrassment is entirely dependent on the cultural context of the observer. Say you find yourself in Victorian culture, and you use the shrimp fork to pit an olive: cringe! Some observers will laugh behind their hands: cringe! Others will gossip about you later, others will gossip about the loss of decorum of those who laughed. Or maybe you're out in the back country with some cultured locals, who offer you coffee in the morning. You say "yes please, a bone-dry triple venti cappuccino with whipped cream and salted caramel!" Cringe! With a hearty guffaw, they pour off a cup from the percolator and drop a couple of elk berries to fancy it up a bit. In a bold attempt to save face, you act casual and drink it down. Cringe! Now they'll be telling your tale for years to come.

Yep, me neither. The best I can tell is that it's a new children's term. If a kid says "that's cringe", it means "I don't like that".

Neekerer 7y ago
ok boomer
- kls 7y ago
  given that he/she is on HN, my assumption would be that they are a Gen-X'er at the earliest. Gen-X'ers saw and built the dawn of the internet/web so they still hold life outside the web in high regard and while we "get" a lot of the tech life stuff, we find participation to not be as important as younger generations. Then there is just stuff we don't see the point in, not that it's not important, rather it's just lost in generation translation.
  - pferde 7y ago
    I'm sorry, I'm not from USA, so these US-centric tribal designations do not mean anything to me. I'm in my late 30s, if it helps.
    - kls 7y ago
      lat 30's would place you as a gen-x'er IIRC gen-X ran from 61 to 81. https://www.kasasa.com/articles/generations/gen-x-gen-y-gen-z https://www.kasasa.com/articles/generations/gen-x-gen-y-gen-...
- Invictus0 7y ago
  This is not even a correct use of the meme, you are now cringe.
- viridian 7y ago
  cringe
throwawaylolx 7y ago
Feels like OP spends significant time in some sorts of Twitter bubble ("Being blocked by someone you never heard of is a common experience online" ?) and either overestimates how prevalent his situation is or the post was not intended for a general audience.

workthrowaway 7y ago

it's not just you. i am, i think, "that" generation and i have no idea what this is all about. the word "cringe" is overused, we should "cancel" it.

lasagnaphil 7y ago
And I'm just incredibly awed at how meta this comment section can get...

vorpalhex 7y ago

The author is using a trick from philosophy - taking an existing word (in this case: cringe) and redefining it in a new expansive way somewhat related to its original meaning. Whereas it originally might mean "an involuntary reaction to something embarrassing" the author seems to intend for it to mean "embarrassing, self unaware, shallow, vapid" with the added comprehension that cringe is a rank-able thing - someone is always more "cringe" then you.

gcbw3 7y ago
The author is also a New America Fellow, so they must use a trick from any center-right academic fellow to publish center-right articles to be picked by center-right journals every now and then (and then be misquoted as munition to "based" arguments on fringe social media)
- vorpalhex 7y ago
  It sounds like you're bringing partisan lean into something fundamentally non-partisan. The original piece is somewhat left of center (though still firmly moderate imo) though my comment applies to many different and diverse scholars from very different partisan leans and is a pedagogical practice in nature.

klyrs 7y ago

Cringe is being used as a noun, here. If something makes you feel embarrassed, or makes others embarrassed on your behalf, that's cringe. The reasons behind that embarrassment is entirely dependent on the cultural context of the observer. Say you find yourself in Victorian culture, and you use the shrimp fork to pit an olive: cringe! Some observers will laugh behind their hands: cringe! Others will gossip about you later, others will gossip about the loss of decorum of those who laughed. Or maybe you're out in the back country with some cultured locals, who offer you coffee in the morning. You say "yes please, a bone-dry triple venti cappuccino with whipped cream and salted caramel!" Cringe! With a hearty guffaw, they pour off a cup from the percolator and drop a couple of elk berries to fancy it up a bit. In a bold attempt to save face, you act casual and drink it down. Cringe! Now they'll be telling your tale for years to come.