Waldosia

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

Waldosia

n.
a condition in which you keep scanning faces in a crowd looking for a specific person who would have no reason to be there, as if your brain is checking to see whether they’re still in your life, subconsciously patting its emotional pockets before it leaves for the day.

From the Where’s Waldo? series of picture books, or in some countries, Where’s Wally?, in which the reader tries to spot one specific person somewhere in a massive crowd. Pronounced “wawl-doh-zhuh” or “wawl-doh-see-uh.”

Fool’s Guilt

Cover image for the Fool’s Guilt word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Evertheless

a person floating in water

Aftersome

rows of opaque and clear marbles

Nullness

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

Daguerreologue

Daguer-reologue

a man sitting in blurred silhouette at a desk

Ludiosis

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