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.

Exulansis

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

Attriage

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

Maugry

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

Fitching

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

Cullaways

a lone sand castle on a beach at low tide

Vicarous

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