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.

Tillid

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

Zysia

a kite soaring above an empty landscape

Inerrata

a hand holding a broken cup

Midsummer

a person standing in a garden holding a clock

Lockheartedness

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

Suente

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