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.”

Siso

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

Keyframe

a large rock in the water with emanating ripples

Ne’er-Be-Gone

Cover image for the Ne’er-Be-Gone word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Pithered

stacks of papers and folders piled high on a table

Nodrophobia

close-up of a stained shirt

Moledro

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