Grayshift

a spiral staircase from above

Grayshift

n.
the tendency for future goals and benchmarks to feel huge when viewed in advance, only to fade into banality as soon as you’ve achieved them—finally reaching the top of the ladder, only to notice it circling back around like a hamster wheel.

A variation on redshift and blueshift, the astronomical processes that make objects moving away look redder than they really are, and objects moving toward you look bluer.

Winnewaw

a person wearing a party hat

Wollah

a person with shapes raining on them

Nilous

a person standing at a bus terminal

Ironsick

a group of random devices

Craxis

a tall house of cards

Kadot

a person looking at an abstract spiral

Knellish

a blurry image of a person lying on a bed

Offtides

close-up of a chromed metal object

Caucic

a close-up of a stone walking path

Furosha

a storm raging in the sky over a building

Rialtoscuro

a blurry image of a light source

Dystoria

close up of water drops on a window

Arroia

people standing on a stage

Evertheless

a person floating in water

Aimonomia

close-up of a plant with lights glowing in background

Beloiter

a person sitting at a slot machine

Hem-Jawed

an abstract image of someone touching their face

Suerza

a tunnel with a light emanating from the end

Hobsmacked

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

Fellchaser

a blurred shadow of a person in a dark room

Archimony

a person looking at broken furniture

Fygophobia

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

Sitheless

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

Rialtoscuro

a blurry image of a light source

Harke

a dreamlike image of a person's face over water

Vellichor

shelves with many books stacked and organized

Zielschmerz

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