Latigo

a blurry image of several men

Latigo

n.
a dizzying sense of awe at the sheer scale of modern society—looking out at a city so vast and complex it can barely be mapped, with millions of miles of roads and power lines and water mains that must be continually repaired and replaced every few years, feeding a labyrinth of supply chains and regulations and contracts and algorithms—a system so massive that individual people seem almost beside the point, that if everybody were to vanish all at once, the city would sigh and carry on its business.

From labyrinth, a maze of tortuous complexity + vertigo, the whirling sensation of looking down from great heights. Compare Spanish látigo, whip. Pronounced “lat-i-goh.”

Anti-Aliasing

Cover image for the Anti-Aliasing word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Catoptric Tristesse

Cover image for the Catoptric Tristesse word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Monachopsis

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

Wytai

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

Amuse-Douche

Cover image for the Amuse-Douche word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Innity

a neatly made bed with diffused light glowing

Lockheartedness

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

Kinchy

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

Kuebiko

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

Momophobia

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

Gaudia Civis

a close-up of a gear

Hailbound

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

Allope

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

Eisce

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

The Unsharp Mask

a mirror with a reflection of a person

Anecdoche

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

Adronitis

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

Aftergloom

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

Latigo

aerial view of a city at night

Moriturism

a person resting in the back seat of a car

The Giltwrights

Cover image for the The Giltwrights word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Karanoia

a neat stack of white paper

Wollah

a person with shapes raining on them

Backmasking

a woman's face with a double exposure

The Kinder Surprise

Cover image for the The Kinder Surprise word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Suerza

a tunnel with a light emanating from the end

Harmonoia

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