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.”

Nighthawk

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

Future-Tense

a person looking at their reflection

Manusia

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

Midding

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

Waldosia

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

Mornden

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