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

Achenia

a close-up of a bottle with an organic object inside

Rookish

a stone tower with a person seated on top

Agnosthesia

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

Endzoned

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

Dolorblindness

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

Heartmoor

a campfire with a kettle many small logs

Vicarous

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

Énouement

a hand opening a curtain

Fool’s Guilt

Cover image for the Fool’s Guilt word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows