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.”

Lisolia

a bookcase containing objects

Trumspringa

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

Rookish

a stone tower with a person seated on top

Scabulous

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

Gaudia Civis

a close-up of a gear

Kerisl

piles of old books scattered in an abandoned room

Aoyaoia

a person holding a guitar

Amentalio

a person in a white dress, facing away

Irrition

a close up of a dandelion

Maugry

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

Burn Upon Reentry

Cover image for the Burn Upon Reentry word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Covalent Bond

Cover image for the Covalent Bond word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows