The uncomfortable feeling you get from the embarassment that the person whom is embarassing themselves should be feeling, but isnt, perhaps because of being:
a. Mentally unstable
b. Under the influence of a controlled/uncontrolled substance
c. Socially retarded
Dude, I had the worst second-hand embarassment for Dennis the other night. He was singing a Phil Collins song from Tarzan to the bartender.
When you cringe while watching people embarrassing/publicly humiliating themselves, especially when they DON'T deserve it. People who suffer from this are generally empaths, or they may suffer from severe social anxiety.
"I tried to tell my friends that Dave couldn't dance, but they forced him to anyway. I got second-hand embarrassment in the worst way while watching him. By the time I pulled him out, his face was the deepest shade of red imaginable, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that he was trying not to cry from embarrassment. We haven't been on speaking terms with those "friends" since that incident."
Moral of the story: Don't force people to do things they're not comfortable with, especially under protest. It may be funny to you, but you've gotta think of other people.
The personal embarrassment that one feels on account of and for another (i.e. a friend, a family member or a complete stranger) who is making a fool of him or herself. A person experiencing secondhand embarrassment feels as if they are doing the embarrassing action themselves, effectively putting themselves in the other person's shoes.
Guy 1: Man, Sarah's presentation today was terrible. She forgot half of it and stumbled through the rest.
Guy 2: Oh I know. I had so much secondhand embarrassment for her. It was like watching a train wreck.
Nickname given to bales of marijuana thrown overboard or out of airplanes. Origin is reportedly from members of the US Coast Guard in the area of Southern Florida.
A sunburn or suntan focused on the left arm. It is caused by the left side of the body being the only half that gets exposed to sunlight while driving. Presumably, it would be located on the right side of the body in countries where they drive on the left side of the road.
I had a trucker's tan after driving for 10 straight hours on a sunny day.
British slang for a scientist or technical expert, esp . when the speaker is not certain of the expert’s specific field of study. Not necessarily derogatory, but typically used by persons without a technical background. In the US, the equivalent would be “egghead”, “squint”, or “geek.”
Origin of the word is unknown. Started sometime in World War 2. Given the typical evolution of British slang, could easily have started because what these experts did was confusing or “baffling” to the common person.
When you have to pee in a movie but don’t want to miss anything, and must do the following mental equation: will the amount I have to pee cause enough discomfort to diminish my attention capacity for the remainder of the movie to an extent which is greater than the amount of the movie I would miss by making a mad dash to the restroom.
I saw Satantango last night, wonderful film but by the 5th hour I had to start doing peecalculus.