The Standard Blues

The Standard Blues

n.
the dispiriting awareness that the twists and turns of your life feel new and profound but are not unique—marked by the same coming-of-age struggles as millions of others, the same career setbacks, the same family strife, the same learning curve of parenting—which makes even your toughest challenges feel harmless and predictable, just another remake of the same old story.

A riff on blues standards, the catalog of the most popular songs in the blues genre, which is itself famous for chord progressions that cycle through variations on a theme.

Mogging Folly

a person sitting on a bench

Lyssamania

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

Waldosia

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

Hobsmacked

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

Anti-Aliasing

Cover image for the Anti-Aliasing word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Adronitis

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