Midding

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Midding

n.
the tranquil pleasure of being near a gathering but not quite in it— hovering on the perimeter of a campfire, talking quietly outside a party, resting your eyes in the back seat of a car listening to friends chatting up front—feeling blissfully invisible yet still fully included, safe in the knowledge that everyone is together and everyone is okay, with all the thrill of being there without the burden of having to be.

Middle English midding, alternate spelling of midden, a refuse heap that sits near a dwelling. Pronounced “mid-ing.”

Antiophobia

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La Gaudière

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Lookaback

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Dolorblindness

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Semaphorism

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The Kinder Surprise

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Watashiato

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Dolonia

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Lilo

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Drisson

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Hanker Sore

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Mauerbauertraurigkeit

Mauerbauer-traurigkeit

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Attriage

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Bye-Over

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Rivener

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On Tenderhooks

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Dorgone

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Mornden

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Solysium

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Skidding

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Aesthosis

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Blinkback

a wall full of pictures and objects

Lyssamania

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Povism

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Volander

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Hem-Jawed

an abstract image of someone touching their face

Etterath

a graduation cap and gown on a chair