Midsummer

a person standing in a garden holding a clock

Midsummer

n.
the point in your mid-twenties when your youthfulness expires as a valid excuse, leaving you accountable for your own station in life, even if you’re still only reeling from your past or planning for the future— which somehow makes time itself feel more urgent than before, until even the springtime pollen floating in the air reminds you of the coming snow.

Borrowed from the traditional feast of the summer solstice, after which all the days become shorter.

Irrition

a close up of a dandelion

Loss Of Backing

Cover image for the Loss Of Backing word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

The Kinder Surprise

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

Thwit

close-up of a person with forehead wrinkled and holding their head

Kairosclerosis

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

Enterhood

adults with stern expressions holding a child