Courtesy torgo_x

[substitute]

Word of the day is: vergüenza ajena.

It’s a Spanish phrase for when one feels severe shame and embarrassment at what someone else is doing. Such as being at the restaurant when your friend is being mean to the waiter, or watching someone fail to rescue himself from an especially bad foot-in-mouth episode. Literally it means something like “the shame of others”.

Comments

[brianenigma.livejournal.com]

If I remember correctly, This American Life calls that a "cringe moment."