noun
Food you do not know how to eat.
Yvonne had never been in a Japanese restaurant before, and she ordered something whose name she couldn’t pronounce. It came on three separate dishes with multiple sauces on the side. Never one to shy from cryptocuisine, she started experimenting with different combinations to see what tasted good, though a small voice in the back of her head tried to convince her the staff were appalled at her incorrect dining methods.
adjective
Inferior due to being misrepresented in a dream.
Last night I dreamed some friends and I watched one of my favorite movies, but it was surrorid - nobody’s dialog made sense and the plot jumped around like crazy.
noun phrase
The phenomenon by which objects that do not move for 48 hours become invisible.
On Friday, Amilia placed the package on her kitchen counter where she could easily grab it on her way out Monday morning and take it to the post office on her way to work. Unfortunately, after spending the weekend at home, the package lapsed into static invisibility and she completely failed to notice and take it when Monday arrived.
noun
The tragic yet inevitable broadening of the definition or scope of a term, meme, or idea, driven by widespread misunderstanding of the original meaning.
The term “manic pixie dream girl” was coined in 2007 by Nathan Rabin. It’s undergone such mementropy that he’s sick of people overusing the term and he actually apologized for coming up with it.
noun
An action that is too familiar to register consciously but not yet repeated enough to be automatic.
Jules’s new apartment required the door be locked from the outside. The first couple of days after move-in, everything was fresh and new enough that his process when leaving couldn’t help but be wholly deliberate, and he always locked the door behind him. It wasn’t long before locking the door became a hypohabit, however, and he would catch himself unable to remember whether he’d locked the door just moments after heading out.
noun
An event that is advantageous despite externally appearing disadvantageous.
“I hear you got laid off - I’m so sorry."
“Oh, don’t worry, that’s a procon. I was about to quit anyway and this way I get severance!”
noun phrase
Opposed to ‘tough love’ which is being cruel to be kind, weak cruelty occurs when one attempts to spare feelings or save face in the short term in a way that leads to much more suffering in the long term.
For a long time, Partha couldn’t bear to tell Octavius that she didn’t feel about him the way she used to. When the truth finally came out, he was enraged at being strung along for months. It was years before he forgave her weak cruelty, recognizing it not as malice but cowardice.
noun
The quality of a relationship (often but not necessarily romantic) that inspires people to create a portmanteau nickname for the unit.
The nickname itself is also known as a unick.
Isador and Markus have really started to become inseparable. They’re crossing over into unicky; soon we’ll have to start calling them Dorkus.
noun
The emotional response to a carelessly-framed comment that immediately destroys any chance of productive discussion.
“Oh, one last thing,” David said, gathering his papers as he wrapped up the meeting. “We’re going to be absorbing a couple of duties from Quality Assurance.” The sentence was scarcely off his lips before he regretted saying it so casually, and the sudden widening of his team members' eyes told him he might as well put his papers back down, as he wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while. It was going to take some time cleaning up the blabdraft and he wasn’t sure he’d ever get things to a state where the issue could be discussed rationally.
noun
A challenge that is easily surmounted the first time, and increasingly difficult on subsequent attempts.
Jillie easily navigated the platforming section of the level she was playing, but then died at the boss fight. Eager to take another try at the boss, her impatience and inattention resulted in failing the platforming section - and every time she failed it, her frustration just made it that much harder. Finally she put the controller down and tried to relax, knowing there was little point in tackling the auxochallenge until she calmed down.
noun
The consumption of a longrunning work that used to be inherently rewarding and is now continued out of habit.
When asked why he still read MegaTokyo, Lex had to adming it was really just fanertia. The strip had drawn him in long ago, but he doubted he’d start reading it if he encountered it for the first time today.
noun
A non-chemical sleep aid, such as a lullaby.
Theo was skeptical when he heard that ASMR videos could put people to sleep. He tried a few different varieties and did not find himself soothed, but when he stumbled upon crinkling he found it a surprisingly effective somnotrope.
noun
A project undertaken to build creative discipline rather than to create something of quality, and which therefore focuses mainly on quantity, completion, or process.
“Wait, so in NaNoWriMo you write an entire novel in a month? How can it possibly be any good?"
“That’s not the point. It’s a slogcraft - what matters is persistence. You do it to get better and to prove you can. It’s not supposed to be any good at all."
“Oh, like urmandictionary?"
“Exactly!”
noun phrase
An argument between two or more parties consisting entirely of misrepresentations of each other’s claims.
Embla finished reading an online article and scrolled down to the comments. The first mocked the article’s author as being somehow pretentious despite the article being strictly factual. The second attacked the first’s author as being somehow misogynistic despite never mentioning gender. The third attacked the second’s author as being a “social justice warrior” for making arguments that did not appear in the comment. Satisfied that the comment thread was just a straw war and contained no genuine discourse, Embla closed the browser tab.
noun
A residual, unresolved emotion left over after breaking contact with someone.
Irena thought she’d wrapped things up with Kendal and gotten all the closure she needed, but in her mind she found herself repeatedly returning to a short argument they’d had some months prior. Had that been where things started to go wrong? Could everything have been different if only they’d handled that lone discussion better? Irena realized she’d never know, but the heartifacts clung on regardless.
noun
The sensation of chill that passes down the throat when one has a large drink of cold water.
Sonia’s favorite part of her daily jog was coming home at the end, pulling her water bottle out of the fridge, and feeling the frigargaqua as she gulped the water down.
noun
Something that causes laughter not because it is funny, but because it comes as a surprise during a tense moment.
Sander was very nervous during his choral audition, so when the person who went next had a voice of a higher pitch than his appearance would suggest, it came as a sniggerbolt and Sander couldn’t help but laugh. The director shot him a dirty look and Sander knew he had no chance of making the cut.
noun
Something created to be given to someone with whom the giver has a positive emotional connection.
Jon was never one for expensive gifts - the affection that went into a sandonum was far more valuable to him. Whether it was a knit scarf or even a homecooked meal, anything made with love made his day.
noun
A dream that is not a nightmare but leaves the dreamer somewhat emotionally disturbed.
Unlike a nightmare that can be dismissed as unrealistic, and avoiding the use of dreamotion that fades upon conscious examination, a fainox is actually often pleasant, involving percoric imagery or the fulfillment of perensanza. Because it is more grounded, the emotional ramifications are much more persistent, and the dreamer is often left with hours of lingering dissatisfaction with the state of their life as reflected by the fainox.
“You okay, Wanda? You seem distracted."
“Hmm? Oh, sorry. It’s just I had this fainox last night that my mother never died. I’ve been a bit out of sorts all morning.”
noun
A task, often trivial, undertaken specifically to feel productive and improve one’s mood.
When you’re tired and feel beat down and worthless, the last thing you’re in the mood for is work. But it’s worth fighting that impulse - often the best way to turn things around is with a sodegere. Getting something done - even a chore like cleaning your room or doing the laundry - proves you’re someone who gets things done, and you have control over your world. With that, it gets easier to do bigger, more valuable things and feel even better.