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.

Rookish

a stone tower with a person seated on top

Galagog

a person alone in a snowy desolate landscape

Boorance

a group of objects on a table

Nemotia

a city with clouds of smoke

The Whipgraft Delusion

Cover image for the The Whipgraft Delusion word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Furosha

a storm raging in the sky over a building

Rivener

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

Manusia

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

Ne’er-Be-Gone

Cover image for the Ne’er-Be-Gone word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Bareleveling

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

Gaudia Civis

a close-up of a gear

Holiette

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

Tornomov

a cloudy sky and landscape