Blinkback

a wall full of pictures and objects

Blinkback

n.
the disillusionment of revisiting a pop-culture touchstone of your youth and finding that it hasn’t aged well at all—having to confront its cringey dialogue, hand-puppet characterization, and wildly implausible plotting—which only makes you wonder what else in your mental fridge is past its expiration date.

Appalachian English (dialect) blinked, soured milk + back, in the past.

Present-Tense

a close-up of a stopwatch

Keir

a snowy landscape with trees and a fence

Austice

a leaf imprint in the mud

Echthesia

blurry image of two clocks

Lap Year

several people racing bicycles uphill in a forest

Archimony

a person looking at broken furniture

Tirosy

a close-up of a young child's face

Kerisl

piles of old books scattered in an abandoned room

Énouement

a hand opening a curtain

Heart Of Aces

a person covering their eyes with their hands

Epistrix

several doors standing in a dark room

Vellichor

shelves with many books stacked and organized

Aftersome

rows of opaque and clear marbles

Ecury

a close-up of cave drawings and symbols

Anticious

a group of men in hats looking at elevated signage

Keyframe

a large rock in the water with emanating ripples

Inerrata

a hand holding a broken cup

Midsummer

a person standing in a garden holding a clock

The Kinder Surprise

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

Semaphorism

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

Rookish

a stone tower with a person seated on top

Dorgone

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

Craxis

a tall house of cards

Anchorage

a person's arm extended over river rapids

Aftergloom

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

Kadot

a person looking at an abstract spiral

Dead Reckoning

Cover image for the Dead Reckoning word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows