Meanings
- AustraliacolloquialAn expression of embarrassment, either for the speaker or for another individual or group.
Oh dear! You don't even understand the basics do you? How embarrassment.
2013 May 19, Coach, “Re: Old VHS tapes”, in aus.tv (Usenet)2 more examples
Corneliu, just looking back at the stack, i realise its probably not the FileAppender and is as you suggest (and which i knew but forgot) me locking the Console window (how embarrassment!)- I will confirm this next time it locks.
2010 June 30, Wolfbyte, “Re: log4net 'deadlock'; 2 app domains”, in ausdotnetlist (Usenet)Hawthorn just allowed Lewis Jetta to kick a goal. How embarrassment. (One goal, nineteen behinds in his first fifteen games.)
2010 August 7, David J Richardson, “And we thought the Dons were bad...”, in aus.sport.aussie-rules (Usenet)
Origin
A catchphrase of Effie Stephanidis, a character who first appeared on the Australian TV show Acropolis Now (1989–1992) and is played by Mary Coustas. Stephanidis is a Greek-Australian, and the phrase is an imitation of the style of English often spoken by immigrants to Australia.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
how embarrassment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/how%20embarrassment
“how embarrassment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/how%20embarrassment. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “how embarrassment,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/how%20embarrassment.
Source: how embarrassment on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.