Fitching

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

Fitching

v. intr.
compulsively turning away from works of art you find frustratingly, nauseatingly good—wanting to shut off the film and leave the theater, or devour a book only in maddening little chunks—because it resonates at precisely the right frequency to rattle you to your core, which makes it mildly uncomfortable to be yourself.

From bitching, markedly good + fitch, the European polecat, an animal that often cripples its prey by piercing its brain with its teeth, before storing it alive in its burrow to return and eat sometime later.

Beloiter

a person sitting at a slot machine

Hickering

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

Emorries

a magnifying glass over photos and books

Rivener

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

Keyframe

a large rock in the water with emanating ripples

Caucic

a close-up of a stone walking path