cringeometer meaning (humorous): definition

cringeometer

noun

UK /kɹɪnˈd͡ʒɒmɪtə/ · US /kɹɪnˈd͡ʒɑmɪtɚ/

Etymology From cringe + -ometer (suffix forming the names of measuring devices), possibly modelled after odometer, speedometer, etc.

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

My cringeometer went off the scale as I watched his excruciating performance.
How Does Your Dad Rate On The Cringe-O-Meter? [title]2011 June 11, “How does Your Dad Rate on the Cringe-O-Meter?”, in NPR, archived from the original on 05 Feb 2016:

4 more examples

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: [...]2014, Dan Walker, “Football and Politics”, in Dan Walker’s Football Thronkersaurus: Football’s Finest Tales, London: Simon & Schuster UK, →ISBN, page 34:
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.2014 February 15, Mark Anthony Falzon, “A village in tiny Malta”, in Times of Malta, Valletta, Malta: Allied Malta Newspapers, →OCLC:
Again, with your cringeometer on, it's lucky, there's loads of brilliant actors, to work a lot is fantastic.2015 April 29, Naomi Gordon, quoting Toby Jones, “Toby Jones on Wayward Pines: ‘The Twist was so Astonishing to Me’”, in Digital Spy:
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.2017 July 7, Jack Lang, “Bizarre transfer unveilings have become the Premier League’s latest arms race – so where will it end?”, in The Independent, London: Independent News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 09 Sep 2017:

Related terms: cringe, cringemaking, cringe-making, cringe-makingly, cringer, cringeworthily, cringeworthiness, cringeworthy, cringing, cringingly, cringingness, cringy