Lap Year

several people racing bicycles uphill in a forest

Lap Year

n.
the age at which you become older than your parents were when you were born, which signals that your stage of the race has already begun, having spent years coasting in their slipstream as they tackled the mountain stages of life, leaving you strong, energetic, and deeply mortified by their loud yellow jerseys.

From lap, one full circuit around a course + gap year, a regenerative break between adjacent stages of life. In the Tour de France, the cyclist with the lowest time receives a ceremonial yellow jersey and the right to start the next stage.

Mithenness

a person standing on the side of a road

Emorries

a magnifying glass over photos and books

Alpha Exposure

a close-up of a baby with diffusion filter

Echthesia

blurry image of two clocks

Nowlings

a pile of black and white puzzle pieces

Enterhood

adults with stern expressions holding a child

Anticious

a group of men in hats looking at elevated signage

Affogatia

miscellaneous items on a table

Kerisl

piles of old books scattered in an abandoned room

Appriesse

a blurry image of a person looking at mounted images

Midsummer

a person standing in a garden holding a clock

Etterath

a graduation cap and gown on a chair

Incidental Contact High

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

Anticious

a group of men in hats looking at elevated signage

Wellium

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

Watashiato

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

Suente

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

Ioia

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

Waldosia

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

Hemeisis

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

Solysium

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