Idlewild

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

Idlewild

adj.
feeling grateful to be stranded in a place where you can’t do much of anything—sitting for hours at an airport gate, the sleeper car of a train, or the backseat of a van on a long road trip—which temporarily alleviates the burden of being able to do anything at any time and frees up your brain to do whatever it wants to do, even if it’s just to flicker your eyes across the passing landscape.

From Idlewild, the original name of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

Grayshift

a spiral staircase from above

Beloiter

a person sitting at a slot machine

La Gaudière

Cover image for the La Gaudière word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Liberosis

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

Watashiato

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

Anchorage

a person's arm extended over river rapids