cringe

Colman, who burst into my awareness in the 2003 TV cringe comedy “Peep Show,” is fantastic throwing jabs around in costume designer PC Williams’ nouveau hipster wardrobe of bold, baggy lines.

Moss opens up about his struggles to negotiate the demands of the practical world, while Hodgetts performs brilliant critiques of the others’ work, sometimes to broad smiles, others to cringes.

“It must have been really confusing for the haters, and really sort of awful and disorienting, that this really not rock ‘n’ roll, horribly earnest, cringe thing was just spreading everywhere,” he said.

Even at the peak of his career, when his songs blared from every city, street and gathering of the country, his singing would get associated with poor taste and "cringe" sensibilities.

The White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner is one of the most cringe institutions in Washington, D.C.