Wollah

a person with shapes raining on them

Wollah

n.
something you’ve misunderstood for years without knowing it—a familiar word with a weird pronunciation, a favorite saying that means the opposite of what you thought, a well-known factoid that was disproven years ago while you weren’t looking—making you want to stress-test the foundations of your understanding of reality.

A mispronunciation of the French voilà, “behold!” Pronounced “wawl-uh.”

Emorries

a magnifying glass over photos and books

Kenaway

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

Pax Latrina

Cover image for the Pax Latrina word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Flashover

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

Nachlophobia

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

Enterhood

adults with stern expressions holding a child