Epistrix

several doors standing in a dark room

Epistrix

n.
a disconcerting cluster of endings that all seem to happen at once; a random barrage of departures and closures and divorces and series finales and celebrity deaths, which leaves you anxiously aware that the author of your story seems to be wrapping up an awful lot of loose ends.

Ancient Greek ἐπὶ- (epi-), on top of + ὕστριξ (hystrix), a porcupine. To sit on a porcupine is to feel the pain of too many endings all at once. Pronounced “ih-pis-triks.”

Elosy

a blurry image of a person in a subway car

Lyssamania

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

Tirosy

a close-up of a young child's face

Vaucasy

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

Dolonia

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

Semaphorism

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