Caucic

a close-up of a stone walking path

Caucic

adj.
afraid that the rest of your life is already laid out in front of you, that you’re being swept inexorably along a series of predictable milestones—from school to graduation to career to marriage to kids to retirement to death—which makes you wish you could pull off to the side of the road for a little while, to stretch your legs and spread out the map so you can double-check that you’re headed the right way.

Middle English cauci, path or road + caustic, able to burn or corrode living tissue. Pronounced “kaw-sik.”

Future-Tense

a person looking at their reflection

Nemotia

a city with clouds of smoke

Aimonomia

close-up of a plant with lights glowing in background

Eftless

a person with hands pressed on a window

Offtides

close-up of a chromed metal object

Elosy

a blurry image of a person in a subway car

Arroia

people standing on a stage

Caucic

a close-up of a stone walking path

Boorance

a group of objects on a table

Aoyaoia

a person holding a guitar

Mogging Folly

a person sitting on a bench

Wollah

a person with shapes raining on them

Galagog

a person alone in a snowy desolate landscape

Moriturism

a person resting in the back seat of a car

Nodrophobia

close-up of a stained shirt

Suerza

a tunnel with a light emanating from the end

Beloiter

a person sitting at a slot machine

Angosis

a table full of food

Sayfish

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

Walloway

water faucet that seems to emanate from the ground

Angosis

a table full of food

Elsing

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

Skidding

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

The Standard Blues

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

Mal De Coucou

a blurry image of several men

Agnosthesia

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

Ledsome

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