Gobo

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

Gobo

n.
the delirium of having spent all day in an aesthetic frame of mind— watching a beautiful movie, taking photos across the city, getting lost in an art museum—which infuses the world with an aura of meaning, until every crack in the wall becomes a commitment to naturalism, and every rainbow swirling in a puddle feels like a choice.

Short for go-between. In theatrical lighting, a gobo is a layer inserted into a lamp that shapes the pool of light that hits the stage. Pronounced “goh-boh.”

Bareleveling

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

Anthrodynia

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

Endzoned

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

Mogging Folly

a person sitting on a bench

O’Erpine

a person looking at a grave

Lap Year

several people racing bicycles uphill in a forest