Arroia

people standing on a stage

Arroia

n.
the wish that you could’ve enjoyed a dry run of your life—muddling through once quickly, then going back to do it all over again, this time for real.

Spanish arroyo, a dried-up streambed waiting for a storm, literally a “dry run.” Pronounced “uh-roi-uh.”

Adomania

a person riding a horse

Aponemia

a group of people standing together

Kadot

a person looking at an abstract spiral

Craxis

a tall house of cards

Hem-Jawed

an abstract image of someone touching their face

Nilous

a person standing at a bus terminal

Furosha

a storm raging in the sky over a building

Dystoria

close up of water drops on a window

Evertheless

a person floating in water

Starlorn

snow flakes in the dark

Tornomov

a cloudy sky and landscape

Ecsis

a hand holding a fossil

Grayshift

a spiral staircase from above

Karanoia

a neat stack of white paper

Winnewaw

a person wearing a party hat

Irrition

a close up of a dandelion

Ironsick

a group of random devices

Achenia

a close-up of a bottle with an organic object inside

Anticious

a group of men in hats looking at elevated signage

Rookish

a stone tower with a person seated on top

Heartworm

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

Anecdoche

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

Bye-Over

Cover image for the Bye-Over word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Sitheless

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

Aftersome

rows of opaque and clear marbles

Ne’er-Be-Gone

Cover image for the Ne’er-Be-Gone word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Kerisl

piles of old books scattered in an abandoned room