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.”

Fellchaser

a blurred shadow of a person in a dark room

Mahpiohanzia

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

Énouement

a hand opening a curtain

Bareleveling

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

Lap Year

several people racing bicycles uphill in a forest

Grayshift

a spiral staircase from above