Incidental Contact High

Cover image for the Incidental Contact High word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Incidental Contact High

n.
an innocuous touch by someone just doing their job—a barber, yoga instructor, or friendly waitress—that you find more meaningful than you’d like to admit; a feeling of connection so stupefyingly simple it makes you wonder if aspiring novelists would be better off just offering people a hug.

In sports, incidental contact is a glancing touch that doesn’t rise to the level of a foul. A contact high is when you feel the effects of a drug vicariously.

Aesthosis

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

Monachopsis

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

Funkenzwangsvorstellung

Funkenzwang-svorstellung

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

Anaphasia

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

Galagog

a person alone in a snowy desolate landscape

Spinning Playback Head

silhouette of a person looking out a window