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.

Dystoria

close up of water drops on a window

Fitzcarraldo

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

Moriturism

a person resting in the back seat of a car

Monachopsis

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

Galagog

a person alone in a snowy desolate landscape

Pâro

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