Punt Kick

Cover image for the Punt Kick word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Punt Kick

n.
a quiet jolt of recognition that it’s time to become a better version of yourself, sensing that all the strategies that brought you this far are no longer working—that it’s not enough anymore to be cute or nice or righteous or tough—as if you’ve now entered a new phase in the game of life, moving forward with a completely different token.

Dutch puntstuk, railway frog, which is the part of a railway switch where two rails intersect. Sometimes you can feel a little kick when your train passes over it, as if the world is trying to signal you’re missing a turn, having traveled too far on the same old track.

Deep Gut

Cover image for the Deep Gut word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Nighthawk

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

Proluctance

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

Candling

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

Symptomania

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

Sayfish

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

Rubatosis

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

The Giltwrights

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

Addleworth

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

Vicarous

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

Leidenfreude

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

Endzoned

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

Povism

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

Fool’s Guilt

Cover image for the Fool’s Guilt word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Agnosthesia

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

Lyssamania

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

Wellium

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

Hiddled

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

Anticious

a group of men in hats looking at elevated signage

Altschmerz

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

Midsummer

a person standing in a garden holding a clock

Rivener

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

Ameneurosis

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

Suerza

a tunnel with a light emanating from the end

Desanté

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

Siso

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

Caucic

a close-up of a stone walking path