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toe-curling

British  

adjective

  1. informal causing feelings of acute embarrassment

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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From a toe-curling tale of Peruvian politics to the lifesaving qualities of red wine...

From Barron's Oct. 31, 2025

The messages have illustrated, in sometimes toe-curling levels of detail, the way in which government figures communicate - described as "teenage with LOLS" by one Tory MP.

From BBC Mar. 4, 2023

“For him, a caption was a toe-curling admission of failure,” said David Leopold, the Al Hirschfeld Foundation creative director who curated the special exhibition.

From New York Times Nov. 29, 2022

Most people who are familiar with Bernstein’s work have some moment that they find toe-curling.

From Washington Post Jul. 20, 2018

Sabrina offered her opinion with a toe-curling shriek.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

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