Apolytus

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

Apolytus

n.
the moment you realize you are changing as a person, finally outgrowing your old problems like a reptile shedding its skin, already able to twist back around and chuckle at this weirdly antiquated caricature of yourself that will soon come off completely.

From apolysis, the stage of molting when an invertebrate’s shell begins to separate from the skin beneath it + adultus, sacrificed. Pronounced “ah-pahl-i-tuhs.”

The Kinder Surprise

Cover image for the The Kinder Surprise word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Daguerreologue

Daguer-reologue

a man sitting in blurred silhouette at a desk

Burn Upon Reentry

Cover image for the Burn Upon Reentry word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Wenbane

a person standing on a ledge looking at a city skyline

Alpha Exposure

a close-up of a baby with diffusion filter

Mithenness

a person standing on the side of a road