Incidental Contact High

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Incidental Contact High

n.
an innocuous touch by someone just doing their job—a barber, yoga instructor, or friendly waitress—that you find more meaningful than you’d like to admit; a feeling of connection so stupefyingly simple it makes you wonder if aspiring novelists would be better off just offering people a hug.

In sports, incidental contact is a glancing touch that doesn’t rise to the level of a foul. A contact high is when you feel the effects of a drug vicariously.

Occhiolism

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Ecstatic Shock

Cover image for the Ecstatic Shock word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Tarrion

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

Feresy

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

Pâro

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

Mal De Coucou

a blurry image of several men