Amuse-Douche

Cover image for the Amuse-Douche word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Amuse-Douche

n.
an activity that you’ve adored since you were a kid—riding bikes, reading books, taking pictures, cooking food—whose enjoyment dissolves on contact with hardcore fanatics’ ferocious obsession with technique.

From amuse-bouche, a bite-size appetizer intended to tantalize the palate + douche. Pronounced “ah-mooz-doosh.”

Rasque

close-up of the shards of a broken vase

Lisolia

a bookcase containing objects

Wildred

Cover image for the Wildred word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

La Cuna

Cover image for the La Cuna word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Rivener

Cover image for the Rivener word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Mogging Folly

a person sitting on a bench