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

The Standard Blues

Cover image for the The Standard Blues word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Siso

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

Hubilance

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

Evertheless

a person floating in water

Present-Tense

a close-up of a stopwatch

Xeno

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

Mornden

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

Keta

a hand reaching through paper with a flower drawing

The Kinder Surprise

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