Backmasking

a woman's face with a double exposure

Backmasking

n.
the instinctive tendency to see someone as you knew them in their youth—a burned-in image of grass-stained knees, graffitied backpacks, or handfuls of birthday cake, superimposed on an adult with a mortgage, or children of their own.

In audio recording, backmasking is a technique wherein a sound is deliberately recorded backward, so it’s only intelligible when played in reverse.

Emorries

a magnifying glass over photos and books

Amentalio

a person in a white dress, facing away

Solla, Solla, Solla

a hand reaching out for plant tendril

Harke

a dreamlike image of a person's face over water

Blinkback

a wall full of pictures and objects

Rasque

close-up of the shards of a broken vase

Midsummer

a person standing in a garden holding a clock

Yeorie

a woman with tendrils of smoke moving across her face

Backmasking

a woman's face with a double exposure

Inerrata

a hand holding a broken cup

Nowlings

a pile of black and white puzzle pieces

Etterath

a graduation cap and gown on a chair

Walloway

water faucet that seems to emanate from the ground

Austice

a leaf imprint in the mud

Anchorage

a person's arm extended over river rapids

Lap Year

several people racing bicycles uphill in a forest

Archimony

a person looking at broken furniture

Anticious

a group of men in hats looking at elevated signage

Anechosis

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

Fawtle

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

Occhiolism

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

Nowlings

a pile of black and white puzzle pieces

Exulansis

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

Querinous

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

Punt Kick

Cover image for the Punt Kick word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Fool’s Guilt

Cover image for the Fool’s Guilt word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Daguerreologue

Daguer-reologue

a man sitting in blurred silhouette at a desk