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.

Ellipsism

a hand clawing at a wall

Knellish

a blurry image of a person lying on a bed

Rialtoscuro

a blurry image of a light source

Rookish

a stone tower with a person seated on top

Mimeomia

a person wearing an animal onesie garment

Tarrion

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

Keep

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

Exulansis

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

Galagog

a person alone in a snowy desolate landscape

Routwash

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

Harmonoia

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

Winnewaw

a person wearing a party hat

Hickering

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