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.”

Mithenness

a person standing on the side of a road

Emorries

a magnifying glass over photos and books

Alpha Exposure

a close-up of a baby with diffusion filter

Echthesia

blurry image of two clocks

Nowlings

a pile of black and white puzzle pieces

Enterhood

adults with stern expressions holding a child

Anticious

a group of men in hats looking at elevated signage

Affogatia

miscellaneous items on a table

Kerisl

piles of old books scattered in an abandoned room

Appriesse

a blurry image of a person looking at mounted images

Midsummer

a person standing in a garden holding a clock

Etterath

a graduation cap and gown on a chair

Hobsmacked

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

Mithenness

a person standing on the side of a road

1202

Cover image for the 1202 word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Trumspringa

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

Desanté

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

Nemotia

a city with clouds of smoke

Candling

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

Exulansis

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

Gobo

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