The Standard Blues

The Standard Blues

n.
the dispiriting awareness that the twists and turns of your life feel new and profound but are not unique—marked by the same coming-of-age struggles as millions of others, the same career setbacks, the same family strife, the same learning curve of parenting—which makes even your toughest challenges feel harmless and predictable, just another remake of the same old story.

A riff on blues standards, the catalog of the most popular songs in the blues genre, which is itself famous for chord progressions that cycle through variations on a theme.

Ioia

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

Leidenfreude

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Addleworth

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Vicarous

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Deep Gut

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Apolytus

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Proluctance

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Hiddled

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The Wends

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Viadne

Cover image for the Viadne 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

Nementia

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Liberosis

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Punt Kick

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The Meantime

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Aesthosis

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Manusia

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

Mcfeely

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Keep

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Trumspringa

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Keta

a hand reaching through paper with a flower drawing

Harke

a dreamlike image of a person's face over water

Mogging Folly

a person sitting on a bench

Moledro

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Ringlorn

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Xeno

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Midding

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