“I’m Sorry, I’m Married”: 30 Times People Misread Social Cues And Created Legendary Cringe
There’s not a single person in the world who hasn’t embarrassed themselves in a social situation. No matter how charismatic and smooth you think you are, everyone’s brain goes ‘derp’ from time to time, leading to a bunch of awkwardness.
In a viral reel on Instagram, popular YouTuber Connor Flannery (@connorpugs) asked his followers to share the most jaw-droppingly bad moments when they misread social cues. Scroll down for their stories. Just… get ready for more secondhand embarrassment than watching The Office.

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Not me but a coworker. I work at Chick-Fil-A and I was working with a new guy who was being trained with my friend. The new guy kept on trying to make sure he said "my pleasure" and "they'll have your food at the window" but once he messed up and said "they'll pleasure you at the window." I couldn't stop laughing the whole shift.
Someone knocked on the bathroom stall, I panicked and said "come in" and THEY DID.
HAHAHAH! oh god this reminds me of my most embarrassing public bathroom incident...I was at the zoo when suddenly I reeeaaally had to go, there was no holding it. So I found a bathroom, and was doing my business, when there was a knock. I was already embarrassed having to do my business in a public place, so I panicked and decided to pretend I was a man. Idk why. But in my deepest surliest voice I called out "OCCUPIED", and thought that was that. NO. The lady who knocked on the door freaking waited outside the bathroom. So I'm walking out, a young 20s something woman who just stanked up a bathroom and did a weird manly voice in an attempt to hide my identity 😂💀😭 this was like a decade ago, y'all, and it still haunts me. This is my shame
Started going “woo” during a theater meeting cuz someone else was… turns out those were involuntary ticks I was mimicking.
The others I’ve read so far were “meh,” but this one made me wince so hard my neck’s still at a strange angle and I’m looking for my heating pad. (I usta date someone with Tourette’s, so he was *constantly* snorting, screeching, groaning, all manner of involuntary noises, and this one made me imagine i mimicked him on our first date, and … nuts! I physically winced again. I’m gonna apply some Tiger Balm til I find the heating pad. Holy c**p; this is just TOO awful!)
Broadly speaking, the best way to handle any socially awkward and embarrassing situations is to lean into them. Your first reactions might be to pretend that nothing happened, to defend yourself, or to run away.
However, when you acknowledge that you messed up (with a liberal addition of humor on top), you end up coming out on top. Not only do you defuse the awkwardness by accepting what happened, but you also appear approachable and down-to-earth to everyone else.
And it’s not like you can perfectly avoid embarrassing yourself. It’s going to happen sooner or later. So, it’s smarter to learn how to react healthily now than to blunder around in the future.
Walked into a room of people praying silently, didn't realize they were praying so I shouted "geez why is it so depressing in here?"
After a job interview the manager said "lovely meeting you" and I answered "love you too".
One time someone said "what's up my dog!?" (I was new to English slang, not 1st language) I said "nothing much my weiner!" Like a weiner dog. Turns out that's not the saying, and he wasn't talking to me.
Also indicates small male 'member' in some circles.
Load More Replies...The fear is that all of your embarrassment can turn into deep-seated shame if you keep ignoring your feelings. And the odds are that you don’t want memories of socially awkward encounters haunting your steps for the next few decades.
If you have trouble coming to terms with the mistakes you’ve made, you may want to reach out to a therapist. They’ll help you reframe your experiences and empower you. They’ll also help you create the behavioral tools you need to react to social stress better.
Just keep in mind that therapy isn’t magic. Mental health specialists guide and support you, but you have to do all the heavy emotional work yourself.
One time at the cashier I was asked if I wanted the items double or single bagged. But I thought I heard "Are you single?" So, I confidently was like, "Im sorry, Im married" Showing my wedding ring. And the dude was like, "noooo.. noooo.. I asked if you want it single or double bagged." I wanted to disappear. I awkwardly laughed while I paid and left.
And then he said oh you're not that bad looking, just one bag would be enough
The cashier told me to "have a good day" but i had my headphones on and thought she said "do you need a receipt" so i said "no thank you" and she just said " oh ok."
I was at a red light and as the light turned green several more cars kept going thru the light. I started honking my horn and cursing at the cars and I started edging up to go because they just kept coming thru and finally someone yelled "it's a funeral procession [jerk]!!!".
Oof. Did something similar. Turned onto a street and there were just all these motorcycles. It was Bike Week, so I just respectfully took my place and thought nothing of it until they all started yelling at me. Gave the ''w*f?!' gesture. It was a procession for a brutally m******d highway patrolman. Pulled over immediately, but the damage was done. Glad I was selling the car soon after.
According to Verywell Mind, it’s important that you accept that embarrassment is unavoidable, but also temporary. “It’s not about trying to avoid [embarrassing moments] altogether (spoiler: that’s impossible), but more about being mentally prepared to handle them like a pro when they happen.”
To cope with those situations better, you should try to visualize positive outcomes. You’ll be less anxious if you imagine yourself handling embarrassment well.
What’s more, you can look at embarrassment as an opportunity to strengthen your resilience. In other words, you get better with practice. You’ll slowly build more and more confidence.
I answered several questions with full confidence not knowing that person was on a phone call talking to someone else.
I was buying a slushie that was 3.28 dollars and I gave him 3. He said "you need 28 more cents" but I thought he said you have an extra 28 cents so I said "oh no that's okay" and he was like "you still have to pay..."
Worked at a gas station, guy comes in and says "I'm at pump 8, can I get some gas?" And I say "would you like that in a cup or a cone?" Idk what I was on.
What is the most socially awkward situation that you’ve ever found yourself in, Pandas? What is the latest social cue you missed that made you feel deeply embarrassed?
How do you tend to react when you mess up and find yourself stuck in situations like these? Share your thoughts and advice in the comments section at the very bottom of this post.
I was walking out of a store and I thought some random persons car was my moms car so I opened the door and someone was sitting there and I screamed.
Shook the waiter's hand when he was gesturing for me to hand him the menu.
Never recovered.
When I was about 8 the dentist was gesturing to my mum about my teeth and I went to shake his hand. He was like what are you doing and I said I thought you were going to shake my hand. He said you can shake it next time. So next time, I reminded him of that, and we shook hands.
The rainforest cafe in galveston has a ride and the same worker directed us to the ride, sold us tickets, operated the ride, and was at the gift shop counter, my mom said "oh my god you keep popping up like an oompa loompa."
He also happened to be short and mixed.
Last night my neighbor was walking by my house and instead of waving hello I started clapping...as I said hi.
I'm a waitress... typically as soon as the table sets I bring chips & salsa along with a hot soup !! There was a toddler about 2 years old sitting on the edge with her high chair!
Soooo as I was placing down the things I covered the soups and said "ohh be careful, I don't want her accidentally putting her hand in."
They all look at each other & as I look for the baby's hands, she had no arms.😭😭😭😭
Was in an elevator with a woman in a wheelchair. Me being me, decided small talk was a good idea. First line I opened with was "great day to go for a jog really".
I am in a wheelchair and that would make me laugh until I had to pee
I once asked a woman if I could pet her baby.
Ugh. I remember when I was dating someone and she took me to meet her family. I was CRAZY-nervous as they were a bit on the conservative side, and her sister showed me her new baby. I care not at all for babies, but was trying to make a good impression. It was dressed in lavender clothes, and I asked “Is it a baby?” when what I’d *meant* to ask was “Is it a boy?” and wowie; that caused an amount for offense i wouldn't have thought possible! When my GF asked angrily under her breath “How could you?!” I frantically tried to explain how I simply tripped over my tongue and hadn’t meant to say that, and then excused myself and practically FLEW to the bathroom. I was toying with the idea of climbing out the window when her aunt knocked and joined me in the bathroom to let me know it was okay, that everyone was actually laughing. I was delighted to discover they actually *were*, because when my GF relayed what I’d told her, they thought it was funny.
As a bartender I once said "It's no good, all worries" to a customer. I still think about it.
I was in a store with my husband and i was looking for a perfume. I accidentally hurt a woman with my purse, said sorry to her and told her “sorry i didn’t see you”. She replied “Don’t mind. Me too.” She was blind 😭
This one’s actually funny! I appreciate people who ameliorate my embarrassment/shame/horror/whatever emotion with humor.
Knew someone who had cancer, they were talking to me about a big procedure and I was listening intently, nodding and giving responses. I even said "thank you so much for telling me it means a lot that you'd talk to me about something like this". ... They were on the phone with someone else! It went on for five minutes before I realized.
Art class…there was this girl next to me drawing a full body OC and I said “I love your body!” she said “thank you- wait what?”
Instead of saying 'madam' to a client, I called her 'mommy' 😭💀
In May, I was waiting at urgent care to be checked in to be seen. The lady at the counter was beautifully made up and was wearing an expensive wig. While she asked me questions, I kept calling her “ma’am.” At one point, she turned to grab a form and I saw an Adam’s apple. My eyes immediately went to her chest where I confirmed it wasn't a lady. Clutching my paperwork, I ran back to the waiting area and burst into tears because I hadn’t meant to hurt anyone, and didn’t know whether to apologize. My friend said, “Bink, you made his day! Do you realize how hard he worked to look *just* right? He’s going to be telling ALL his friends tonight that someone at the VA called him ‘ma’am’!” I started drying my tears and was feeling a little better when he called my name and absolutely BEAMED at me. She grabbed my hand and said “See that smile? YOU did that!” I’m still not 100% I did the right thing, but he DID look happy. ☺️
I was at prom and I saw my senior friend and her bf sitting on a bench outside. So I walk over and I say "well if it isn't my favorite couple" little did I realize her bf had literal tears streaming down his face. They were breaking up.
Obviously she didn't break up with him before the prom because then she wouldn't have a prom date, but then she chose to break up with him AT the prom and couldn't wait a few days?? You are not the one who should be embarrassed.
One time I went on a hike with my boyfriend and his family like 2 months into dating (and this was the first weekend I got to meet them bc they live halfway across the country) and his grandmother had [passed away] that year and they had this little Tupperware with them and the mom (whose mom was the one who passed away) had pulled it out and I forget why I thought it was relevant (I think they wanted to buy some taffy earlier in the way while we were shopping around) but I went "oh is that taffy?" And then was told no -it was in fact some of her mothers ashes and then they spread them in a beautiful spot on the hike and cried together and it was so sweet and I was mortified.
Thankfully my bf and his dad thought it was funny and no one was truly offended bc I wasn't told prior that this was happening at all but I wanted to [disappear] in that moment.
When I started working at Chick-fil-a, I was learning to say "my pleasure" instead of "you're welcome". I once told a guest "you're my pleasure."
Hugged the CEO of my company cuz I thought he was giving the signal for the Handshake-to-hug. He was not.
A patient of mine was getting deployed for the military a few days after their visit. As they were leaving I said "good luck with deportation."
At college my friend invited me to sit with him and his friends while we were getting food and before we sat down. I went to a random group of girls thinking that was the table and that he just hadn't sat down yet. I started chatting and I asked them if they knew my friend and they were like "um no, why?" And then I realized I just barged in on their friend group.
In an effort to sympathize with someone who said that she has "pretty severe epilepsy" I promptly responded with "awe so does my cat". The silence that followed was so loud
One of my friends currently has breast cancer. (She's going to be fine, treatment is almost over) We were talking about something embarrassing and I stupidly said "OMG I'd die!" 😫😫🤷♀️ What the heck is wrong with me??? Thankfully we've been friends since we were toddlers and she doesn't hold my idiocy against me.
I once asked a girl in a wheelchair how her shoes were so clean.
I was transporting a young guy who was in a wheelchair, he was injured doing sports thing. He was tired but still had to "sign" the paperwork and said sorry for the crappy writing. I told him I don't care if you sign it with your left foot, he laughed and said that wouldn't work either. I d@mn near died.
Was buying pasteries in a bakery, said "you're welcome!" when the casheier asked if I would pay with cash or card 🙈
I work in an all night garage and one day, when I was paying for something in a shop with my debit card, I watched the screen carefully and then announced “that’s all gone through for you!” to the surprised cashier. Luckily I don’t get embarrassed easily. I thought it was hilarious.
I had an interview and asked to add the recruiter on linkedin after, he said yes then stretched out his hand for a handshake and I put my phone in his hand thinking he wanted to put in his linkedin info.
Was writing for an exam and when the exam was over, a teacher came to me and put his hand forward and nonchalant me, gave my hand back as if it was a marriage proposal, not realising he was there collecting pens they provided us.....I failed the exam, and failed in life as well🙂
In my freshman year of college, there were a boy and a girl in my course who used to spend a lot of time together, playing cards, telling dirty jokes and other stuff, they seemed like real bros. One day I'm playing cards with them and I tell them how cute their sibling bond is. A week later I found out they are dating.
They seem like аssholes to me for not correcting OP right then and there about their relationship. Having to wait a week to find out they’re a couple strikes me as pretty аssholish when they coulda laughed right then and there and said “She/he’s my GF/BF!” That wouldn't have been awkward at all!
My old coworker was telling us about her surgery she had on her hand and i said “oh for cerebral palsy?” Bruh i meant to say carpal tunnel 😭😭 they were just standing there staring at me. It was so embarrassing.
Whenever I find myself in these situations (it happens more often than I would like to admit; I am TERRIBLE at speaking out loud) I just say "Oh, jeez, I forgot how to speak English today" while waving my arms around. Self-deprecating humor is a load-bearing coping mechanism! XD And a joke (even at one's own expense) will usually help break the awkward tension for everyone.
Walking by, I thought a co-worker was reaching for a fist bump. He actually moved his arm to lean against a scaffolding and that's right as my fist made contact with his 💀💀 He looked at me sideways too 😭 absolutely excruciating.
When i was fifteen i went to seaworld and was taking pictures on my camera. a woman and her daughter came over and asked if i could take a picture of them both on her phone but i thought she asked “were you just taking pictures of us” so i just said “no sorry” and walked off.
I told a cashier she could keep the change. She said there was no change. I had exactly the amount of money.. never going there again.
I told what I thought was an old lady she didn't look a day over 40, she wasn't.
After giving an interview, I stretched out to shake his hand and my brain broke simultaneously. I mashed up "It was nice to get to know you a little better" and "have a nice day" and instead I said, "nice knowin' ya. We both were shocked...I stood there with my mouth hanging open as he looked down at the floor and then walked away. He didn't get the job. This was 15 years ago.
Mike, buddy, I am still rooting for you.
When I was little, we went out for dinner and the waitress was older and had kind of a raspy voice. And when she walked away from our table I turned to my mom and, quite loudly, I said "I thought she was a witch or something!"
Almost hit a woman walking her child with my bike cuz I was doing my Duolingo while riding. I was thinking about Spanish so I just said "espanol" as I rode away.
Jesucristo! How can people be so irresponsible and stupid? Doing your Duolingo while riding??? You could have k****d somebody!
So where i live we do cheek to cheek kisses when shaking in certain times and with certain people and all, I never liked it because it's a tradition that changes depending on the person. So i once shaked hands with my friend's UNCLE, he's an old guy so i assumed he would do that because it's tradition... he didn't, and i had to kinda pull him in, the worst thing is that I didn't know how many and what cheek, it was the most embarrassing thing in my entire life, the worst thing is that I could see my friend's face cringing while shaking hands, then he started laughing uncontrollably.
When I was married, an uncle-in-law diеd. He was the only non-racist in the family, and was my cheerleader to the rest of the family. (I’m white; they’ré Chinese.) Another uncle-in-law who was especially unfond of me because of my whiteness approached me and, trying waaay to hard to try to get on his good side, I smiled broadly, heartily shook his hand, and said “It is SO good to see you!” Then, keeping the smile on my face in some kinda grisly rictus, I turned to my then-husband and said quietly, “Please take me out to the parking lot.” There, I explained to him my faux pas and *begged* him to let me sit in the car. He (the happiest human being i have EVER known in my 65 years of life) laughed so hard I was sure he’d wet himself, but convinced me to go back in and he’d keep me away from the uncle. Geez, did I ever feel stupid for seeming SO pleased to see someone … AT A FUNERAL. Ugh; I’m wincing just recounting the story!
I work at Walmart and a customer came up to me with a translator for Spanish so I pulled out my translators and started helping them and then realized halfway I was speaking half gibberish bc my translator was in French not Spanish.
The executive in a shop wished me merry christmas thrice. I couldn't understand, so i said it's ok because I was too embarrassed to ask again. The fourth time the person and his colleagues yelled merry christmas in a chorus.
We went to a gunrange with cousins and the instructor told us he used to be a cop, my cousin asked him why srent you anymore? And he said my mother had a tumor in her brain amd had to get surgery 14 times so i just said oh, my condolences. Turns out he wasnt done with his sentence as he said so i am taking care of her now. Was between laughing and cringing (who survives 14 surgeries???)
OP sounds like either an idiot or a dóuche. Lots of people survive well over 14 surgeries, especially for a d****d brain tumor. And dear God I hope they didn't laugh right after he said he had left his career to care for his sick mother...
I was in Basic training and the commander had sent us on some random errand that required an empty bottle. Had to go up to every DS truck and beg for one - one of them just looked at me and handed me a bottle with murky brown liquid. I wasn't the brightest back then so I just took it and went away and went to dump it out on the grass.
My battle buddies screeched to high heavens - it was a spit bottle for dip. fyi I didn't graduate.
My buddy and I were bartending at this really awesome dive in the Midwest. A guy comes in looking a little sad, but friendly. Night goes on, and he slowly drinks his beers. We get him a little cheered up. This was right after the Oscar's. My coworker starts gushing about Heath Ledger and what a shame he had passed too soon etc. etc... Dude starts getting quiet and sad again. It was was Michael Shannon. Who had just list the Oscar to Ledger. I have never seen my friend so embarrassed. She bought him an apology shot and hid the rest of the night.
To be fair, was a dive bar in the Midwest! I wouldn't have clocked that either!
Load More Replies...I probably shouldn't tell this one, but it was a doozy of humiliation all around. I am not and have never been much of a lady's man, so no weird adolescent boast is intended. I was dancing on a stage AT A CHURCH DANCE when Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark." Ya know, the song where he picks Monica from Friends up onto stage with him? I saw a woman looking at me, so I turned to her put out my arm and when she paused for a second, I said, "come on, ya wanna do like Monica?" She yelled back, "I'll go get my coat." Confused I jumped down and asked her "Are you leaving?" She answered, "I thought you wanted to me to do like Monica?" This was shortly after Clinton left office. She had a different Monica in mind. Mortified that I had just shouted out a proposition from a stage, I pointed out my now ashen-faced platonic female friend, and quietly explained, "You're too kind, but I came with her," to which she answered, "oh no, he didn't!"
I'd like you all to understand that I am 43 years old and I still remember and cringe about the time in third grade when all of us were signing each others' yearbooks at the end of the school year. I was a weird child and rarely had any friends, so only the teachers had signed my yearbook. Lo and behold, I see the most popular boy in class (who was also pretty cute, in my opinion) walking towards me, his yearbook in his hands, slightly stretched out to me. He came up to me and I immediately GRABBED his yearbook out of his hands and handed him mine and started signing his yearbook. There was a moment of incredibly awkward silence and then he said "Oh, uh, sorry, I was just going to ask if you knew where Ryan went." (Ryan was his best friend.) I STILL remember the embarrassment XD Adam, if you're out there, the frizzy weird girl from 3rd grade is STILL cringing inside!
Oof. Once at some social thing I'd been dragged to and convinced to mingle at, I was talking about something being pithy and the person I was talking to was pronouncing it "pity" and I was too drunk to click that that was just their accent and I kept correcting them. Obnoxious... on the plus side, at least that's the worst thing I've ever done while drunk, and I can count on one hand the number of times I've so much as gotten tipsy in the last decade so I'm not in danger of a repeat performance any time soon.
New job, went for drink with Australian colleague and as we were getting coats on, I started showing him Irish dancing but in a jokey way. He found it funny . Next day in loos, I decided to see what I looked like so started doing a full on jig in mirror. As you can guess my manager walked in. Not my immediate manager, one level above. My managers manager .It was my first week so couldn’t explain as still too new and didn’t really know her. . Since then I have told her and rest of team at team drinks and yes, I am asked to repeat the performance which I gladly do in middle of pub. It’s just a few seconds but makes everyone laugh
My buddy and I were bartending at this really awesome dive in the Midwest. A guy comes in looking a little sad, but friendly. Night goes on, and he slowly drinks his beers. We get him a little cheered up. This was right after the Oscar's. My coworker starts gushing about Heath Ledger and what a shame he had passed too soon etc. etc... Dude starts getting quiet and sad again. It was was Michael Shannon. Who had just list the Oscar to Ledger. I have never seen my friend so embarrassed. She bought him an apology shot and hid the rest of the night.
To be fair, was a dive bar in the Midwest! I wouldn't have clocked that either!
Load More Replies...I probably shouldn't tell this one, but it was a doozy of humiliation all around. I am not and have never been much of a lady's man, so no weird adolescent boast is intended. I was dancing on a stage AT A CHURCH DANCE when Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark." Ya know, the song where he picks Monica from Friends up onto stage with him? I saw a woman looking at me, so I turned to her put out my arm and when she paused for a second, I said, "come on, ya wanna do like Monica?" She yelled back, "I'll go get my coat." Confused I jumped down and asked her "Are you leaving?" She answered, "I thought you wanted to me to do like Monica?" This was shortly after Clinton left office. She had a different Monica in mind. Mortified that I had just shouted out a proposition from a stage, I pointed out my now ashen-faced platonic female friend, and quietly explained, "You're too kind, but I came with her," to which she answered, "oh no, he didn't!"
I'd like you all to understand that I am 43 years old and I still remember and cringe about the time in third grade when all of us were signing each others' yearbooks at the end of the school year. I was a weird child and rarely had any friends, so only the teachers had signed my yearbook. Lo and behold, I see the most popular boy in class (who was also pretty cute, in my opinion) walking towards me, his yearbook in his hands, slightly stretched out to me. He came up to me and I immediately GRABBED his yearbook out of his hands and handed him mine and started signing his yearbook. There was a moment of incredibly awkward silence and then he said "Oh, uh, sorry, I was just going to ask if you knew where Ryan went." (Ryan was his best friend.) I STILL remember the embarrassment XD Adam, if you're out there, the frizzy weird girl from 3rd grade is STILL cringing inside!
Oof. Once at some social thing I'd been dragged to and convinced to mingle at, I was talking about something being pithy and the person I was talking to was pronouncing it "pity" and I was too drunk to click that that was just their accent and I kept correcting them. Obnoxious... on the plus side, at least that's the worst thing I've ever done while drunk, and I can count on one hand the number of times I've so much as gotten tipsy in the last decade so I'm not in danger of a repeat performance any time soon.
New job, went for drink with Australian colleague and as we were getting coats on, I started showing him Irish dancing but in a jokey way. He found it funny . Next day in loos, I decided to see what I looked like so started doing a full on jig in mirror. As you can guess my manager walked in. Not my immediate manager, one level above. My managers manager .It was my first week so couldn’t explain as still too new and didn’t really know her. . Since then I have told her and rest of team at team drinks and yes, I am asked to repeat the performance which I gladly do in middle of pub. It’s just a few seconds but makes everyone laugh
