Rasque

close-up of the shards of a broken vase

Rasque

n.
a moment you instantly wish you could take back, feeling a pulse of dread right after crossing the point of no return—a blurted confession, a hurled insult, a final decision you’d been waffling over for months— wanting to take just one step backward in time, reverting to the way things used to be, in the halcyon days of just a minute ago.

From rue, to regret + bourrasque, a tempest. Pronounced “rask.”

Epistrix

several doors standing in a dark room

Aftersome

rows of opaque and clear marbles

Daguerreologue

Daguer-reologue

a man sitting in blurred silhouette at a desk

Archimony

a person looking at broken furniture

Austice

a leaf imprint in the mud

Vellichor

shelves with many books stacked and organized

Halfwise

a train coming towards the camera shot from the tracks

Inerrata

a hand holding a broken cup

Tirosy

a close-up of a young child's face

Pithered

stacks of papers and folders piled high on a table

O’Erpine

a person looking at a grave

Harke

a dreamlike image of a person's face over water

Keyframe

a large rock in the water with emanating ripples

Backmasking

a woman's face with a double exposure

Ecury

a close-up of cave drawings and symbols

Blinkback

a wall full of pictures and objects

Zysia

a kite soaring above an empty landscape

Present-Tense

a close-up of a stopwatch

Dolorblindness

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

Nodrophobia

close-up of a stained shirt

Yeorie

a woman with tendrils of smoke moving across her face

Amuse-Douche

Cover image for the Amuse-Douche word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Looseleft

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

Amentalio

a person in a white dress, facing away

Slipfast

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

Vulture Shock

Cover image for the Vulture Shock word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Scabulous

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