Winnewaw

a person wearing a party hat

Winnewaw

n.
an unexpected burst of good news that only makes you skeptical, believing that every sudden rise in your fortunes must inevitably be accompanied by an impending fall, which leaves you feeling uneasy at the end of a really good day, waiting around for the punch line.

Middle English winne, joy + wawe, woe. Compare williwaw, a sudden blast of wind descending from the mountains to the sea. Pronounced “win-uh-waw.”

Ecsis

a hand holding a fossil

Ellipsism

a hand clawing at a wall

Angosis

a table full of food

Future-Tense

a person looking at their reflection

Grayshift

a spiral staircase from above

Starlorn

snow flakes in the dark

Aponemia

a group of people standing together

Nodrophobia

close-up of a stained shirt

Mogging Folly

a person sitting on a bench

Adomania

a person riding a horse

Moriturism

a person resting in the back seat of a car

Aoyaoia

a person holding a guitar

Tornomov

a cloudy sky and landscape

Elosy

a blurry image of a person in a subway car

Achenia

a close-up of a bottle with an organic object inside

Karanoia

a neat stack of white paper

Eftless

a person with hands pressed on a window

Irrition

a close up of a dandelion

Watashiato

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

Rookish

a stone tower with a person seated on top

Daguerreologue

Daguer-reologue

a man sitting in blurred silhouette at a desk

Occhiolism

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

Lisolia

a bookcase containing objects

Dolonia

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

Nilous

a person standing at a bus terminal

The Wends

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

Punt Kick

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