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.”

The Meantime

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

Archimony

a person looking at broken furniture

Lap Year

several people racing bicycles uphill in a forest

Heartspur

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

Ochisia

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

Hubilance

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