Many words came into Russian during the period of fashion for teaching children of aristocrats certain languages. When French was at the peak of popularity, the inhabitants of Russia borrowed many capacious, vivid and ambiguous terms that today are not so well known to the younger generation. A special place among them was occupied by the “affront”. This is a colorful statement that was familiar to every person who valued their honor.
Hello from France
Most scholars are inclined towards the French affront as their ancestor, although in Polish and Celtic there are also similar definitions in sound and spelling. The inhabitants of Paris put only one meaning into this concept - shame. A terrible, unsightly public shame in front of relatives, neighbors, and casual passers-by that have witnessed any scene from your life.
Development in Russia
But Muscovites and Petersburgers used the term in a broader sense. About four key values can be distinguished:
public insult;
shame (loss) or failure;
unexpected trouble;
sharp rebuff.
The ancestors could tell in detail what an affront means, both for a representative of high society and for ordinary citizens. The rupture of a long-settled engagement is also suitable here, moreover, in front of friends or top officials, before whom no one wants to embarrass. And the ordinary dispute of the two dandies, who made a bet on the winner in the races, boasting his knowledge of horses, and one of them was completely lost. Even bullying for some reason can be described by the indicated concept.
In a general sense, the term implies a situation where a person does not expect a trick, there are all prerequisites for a positive outcome, but a failure! The collapse of bright expectations with a sad outcome: a fall in the eyes of society. Not necessarily strong, but a blow to reputation. It will not be easy to find a synonym among the words demanded in the 21st century, but the most similar will be the sacramental "fiasco".
Modern use
To say this today? Not worth it. The older generation enthusiastically read classical Russian literature, watched Soviet films about the 17th-19th centuries, where the directors tried to immerse the audience in the atmosphere of the past even with the help of the characters' speech. They are familiar with the concept of “affront” - this is a common situation in Tolstoy’s works, in art productions and in comedy films about village life.
Young people either in an ironic vein will say “fiasco”, or they will select no less capacious expressions from the section of obscene vocabulary. Leave the floor for historical books and theater.