Offtides

close-up of a chromed metal object

Offtides

adj.
beginning to suspect that you’re living in a bizarre alternate reality, as if you had stumbled into a shimmering “What if?” thought bubble that somehow kept going, episode after episode.

After off, the state of being not quite normal or sane + offsides, a sports offense in which you find yourself on the wrong side at the wrong moment + tides, the normal ebb and flow of time.

Lackout

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

Present-Tense

a close-up of a stopwatch

Rubatosis

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

Flashover

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

Keep

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

Anchorage

a person's arm extended over river rapids