Povism

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

Povism

n.
the frustration of being stuck inside your own head, unable to see your face or read your body language in context, only ever guessing how you might be coming across—which makes you think of yourself as a detached observer squinting out at a lushly painted landscape, though to everyone else you seem woven right into the canvas.

From point of view + ism. Blessed are the slugs, whose eyes are held aloft on wriggling stalks, just tall enough to see their entire bodies in context. Pronounced “poh-viz-uhm.”

Malotype

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

Aulasy

a blurry image of a house on the road

Enterhood

adults with stern expressions holding a child

Vaucasy

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

Affogatia

miscellaneous items on a table

Ledsome

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