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.

Hiddled

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

Nachlophobia

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

Foreclearing

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

Xeno

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

Nodrophobia

close-up of a stained shirt

Altschmerz

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