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.”

Heartspur

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

Foilsick

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

Furosha

a storm raging in the sky over a building

Nighthawk

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

Rasque

close-up of the shards of a broken vase

Punt Kick

Cover image for the Punt Kick word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows