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.”

Nyctous

a person walking in the middle of a street

Etterath

a graduation cap and gown on a chair

Moledro

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

Mogging Folly

a person sitting on a bench

Scabulous

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

Funkenzwangsvorstellung

Funkenzwang-svorstellung

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