Britons blush four times a day as top 50 most awkward moments revealed

Faux pas: Tripping over in public is considered one of the biggest embarrassments by the study that says Britons are red faced four times a day

Forgetting people's names and unsightly sweat patches are among the most common faux pas that leave Britons blushing with embarrassment four times a day.

Tripping in public and getting food stuck between teeth are also humiliating moments that most try hard to avoid and one in seven say a relationship has ended because something embarrassing happened.

A study of 2,000 adults found that burping accidentally, stalling the car at traffic lights and having food on your face are among the top 50 most common moments that leave us red faced.

Commissioned by Ladbrokes, the research found that the biggest embarrassments were most likely to have been in the workplace while stories involving things going wrong in front of the in-laws were also very common.

A Ladbrokes spokesman said: ‘Everyone does their best to be composed and cool wherever they are, but it isn’t always going to work and clearly there are many pitfalls.

‘The good thing is once the awkwardness clears the little things that throw us can eventually be looked back on and laughed about.’

A fifth of people have had a public speaking nightmare that they would rather forget and the most embarrassing speaking blunder is having your voice break or squeaking high pitched unexpectedly.

And one in seven Britons have been so embarrassed that they have fled a room to avoid the awkward stares.

The spokesman said: ‘The good thing about this list is no one is immune and we’re all guilty of having done at least some of these things.

‘We don’t always bring them on ourselves of course, so it’s worth being aware of particular mates or people who might look to embarrass you when you’re off guard.

‘Certain situations have more potential for embarrassment than others of course but the thing to take remember from all of it is there’s no point taking yourself too seriously.

‘Look down the list and the results show there are many things that we can all relate to and some might have more embarrassing memories than others.

'With hindsight they can even be quite funny, even if at the time you just wanted the ground to swallow you up.’

忘记人名、难看的汗渍，这些失态行为都是让英国人一天脸红四次的最常见的原因。

在众人眼前绊倒、食物残渣夹在牙缝中，也是许多英国人极力避免的尴尬时分。七分之一英国人称，自己曾有一段恋情因为发生了尴尬的事而告终。

一项涵盖了2000名成人的研究指出让英国人脸红的50个最常见的原因。研究发现，突然打嗝、交通灯亮时急刹车，还有食物粘在脸上，都是最常见的脸红原因。

立博公司委托开展的这一调查发现，最让英国人脸红的事情最经常发生在工作场所中，在姻亲面前犯错的事情也是最让英国人脸红的。

立博公司的一名发言人说：“每个人都努力在任何情况下保持沉着冷静，但有时候还是冷静不下来，显然陷阱比比皆是。”

“好的一面是一旦尴尬过去，那些让我们绊倒的小事情，以后在我们回首时，可以作为趣事来谈笑。”

五分之一的英国人在公共场合发言这方面都有一段不堪回首的回忆，最让人尴尬的错误就是说话破音，或是突然发出尖声。

七分之一的英国人曾经陷入迫使自己逃离现场来躲避众人目光的尴尬境地。

立博公司的发言人说：“这份清单的好处是让人们知道谁都无法避免尴尬，我们都曾因做过其中一些事而愧疚。”

“当然，这些尴尬并不都是我们自己造成的，所以要提防某些人在你没有戒备的时候出你的糗，这也是值得我们注意的。”

“当然，某些情形比其他时候更容易出糗，但需要从中吸取的是，没必要太把自己当回事儿。

“看一下这份清单，我们发现，许多尴尬事情都和我们有关，但有些人也许拥有的尴尬回忆比其他人更多。

“回头看时，这些事甚至让人觉得挺好笑，即使当时你恨不得钻进地缝里。”

Vocabulary:

faux pas: 失礼，失态

burp: 打嗝

hindsight: 事后的认识

The Most Common Red-Faced Moments

十大尴尬瞬间

Forgetting someone’s name when introducing them

在介绍某人时忘了那人的名字

Tripping over in public

当众绊倒

Getting someone’s name wrong

把某人名字弄错

Getting food stains or splashes on your top

胸前沾上食物污渍

Waving at someone and they don’t see you

向某人招手，而那人却没看见你

Getting food stuck in your teeth

食物残渣夹在牙缝中

Thinking someone’s waving at you when they are not

以为某人在向你招手，其实他们是在向别人招手

Forgetting where you parked

忘记你把车停在哪了

Burping accidentally

突然打嗝

Trouser zip being undone

裤子拉链没拉上