Aulasy

a blurry image of a house on the road

Aulasy

n.
the sadness that there’s no way to convey a powerful memory to people who weren’t there at the time—driving past your childhood home to show it to a friend, or pointing at a picture of a loved one you lost, only to realize that to them it’s just another house, just another face.

A contraction of auld lang syne, which is Scots for “times long past”—fragments of which are still present in aulasy, but the meaning has been lost. Pronounced “awl-uh-see.”

Elsewise

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

Mimeomia

a person wearing an animal onesie garment

Burn Upon Reentry

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

Midding

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

Altschmerz

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

Fata Organa

Cover image for the Fata Organa word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows