Cringe Normie

About

Cringe Normie refers to an ironic online insult which highlights the changed perception of the word "cringe" as being cringy itself and sometimes also references /r/woooosh subreddit and other aspects of the Reddit culture. The expression gained popularity in ironic communities on iFunny, Instagram and Reddit starting in late 2018.

Origin

The exact origin of the expression is currently unknown. The earliest known use of the expression can be traced to July 8th, 2018, post based on Shrek's Cringe Compilation macro by iFunny user Vagooger.^[1]

Spread

On August 23rd, 2018, Redditor epicmeme666 posted a copypasta containing the phrase to /r/copypasta subreddit.^[2]

I know you are a cringe normie 😡😡😡 I’ve been watching you talking to your weirdo friends talking about how Ugandan knuckles isn’t funny 😤😤😤😤 but in fact it that meme was pretty boss 😎 and fresh 😎 so you better stop talking cr*p.

On September 17th, 2018, iFunny user AnnoyingOrangeFanPage used the phrase in a meme which gained over 290 likes in eight months (shown below).^[3]

In the following months, the expression gained significant spread on iFunny,^[4][5] also spreading to ironic communities on Instagram and Reddit such as /r/okbuddyretard in early 2019. Many examples of the meme reference /r/woooosh subreddit and other aspects of the Reddit culture, presenting Redditors as faux-intellectual and lacking awareness of ironic meme meta.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References