Bareleveling

Bareleveling

v.
trying to improve yourself without anyone else knowing about it, afraid that they’ll think it’s silly or grandiose or unnecessary, or that they’ll end up calling too much attention to your efforts, transforming a casual tweak into a flashy rebranding campaign.

Armenian բարելավվել (barelavvel), to become better. Pronounced “bair-lev-uhl-ing.”

Mornden

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

Winnewaw

a person wearing a party hat

Blinkback

a wall full of pictures and objects

Rialtoscuro

a blurry image of a light source

Jouska

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

Nemotia

a city with clouds of smoke