Elsing

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

Elsing

n.
the unconscious habit of looking at someone and seeing only a cartoon of what they represent to you, their face obscured by a superimposed image of someone else entirely—your mother, your school bully, or yourself in another time—which makes you wonder what others must see when they look at you from across the room.

From else. Pronounced “el-sing.”

Addleworth

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

La Cuna

Cover image for the La Cuna word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Hem-Jawed

an abstract image of someone touching their face

Knellish

a blurry image of a person lying on a bed

Hanker Sore

Cover image for the Hanker Sore word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Vaucasy

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