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.”

Star-Stuck

a man walking towards a door with a large question mark

Deep Gut

Cover image for the Deep Gut word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Harke

a dreamlike image of a person's face over water

Pithered

stacks of papers and folders piled high on a table

Adomania

a person riding a horse

Lyssamania

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