Scrough

a person working on the sidewalk

Scrough

v. intr.
to mindlessly perform a tedious task that nobody will ever notice, required by a bureaucracy that nobody fully owns, in pursuit of outcomes that nobody really wants.

From scrow, to work hard + scroff, useless bits of leftover material + cog, a tiny forgettable element in a complicated machine. Pronounced “skrawg.”

Hiddled

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

Lyssamania

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

Lap Year

several people racing bicycles uphill in a forest

Manusia

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

Volander

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

Waldosia

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