Definition: A metastasizing moment of workplace horror where one person’s wildly inappropriate comment or action triggers instant, suffocating silence across an entire office. Like a verbal grenade detonating in a conference room, it leaves colleagues frozen in shared disbelief, mentally calculating HR violations per second.
The cringeoma then metastasizes through whispered Slack messages and avoidant eye contact, as coworkers silently bargain for teleportation powers. Survivors develop permanent side-eyeing skills and an irrational fear of all-hands meetings. Prognosis: terminal awkwardness with a 100% chance of water-cooler PTSD.
Example:
Mark’s crude joke about the CEO created instant suffocating silence and shared disbelief, everyone mentally tallying potential HR violations.
The intern’s accidental email blast triggered terminal awkwardness; coworkers exchanged panicked Slack messages while practicing expert avoidant eye contact.