n. an unexpected surge of emotion in response to a seemingly innocuous trigger—the distinctive squeal of a rusty fence, a key change in an old pop song, the hint of a certain perfume which feels all the more intense because you can't quite pin it down.
From heart + spur, a spike on a heel that urges a horse to move forward.
n. a hypothetical conversation that you compulsively play out in your head—a crisp analysis, a devastating comeback, a cathartic heart-to-heart-which serves as a kind of psychological batting cage that feels far more satisfying than the small-ball strategies of everyday life.
French jusqu'à, until. In baseball, "small ball" is a cautious offensive strategy devoted to getting on base via walks, bunts, and steals, forgoing the big home run moments that fans tend to enjoy. Pronounced "zhoos-ka."
n. the habit of telling yourself that just one tweak could solve all of your problems—if only you had the right haircut, if only you found the right group of friends, if only you made a little more money, if only he noticed you, if only she loved you back, if only you could find the time, if only you were confident— which leaves you feeling perpetually on the cup of a better life, hanging around the top of the slide waiting for one little push.
From just, only, simply, merely + jousting, a sport won by positioning the tip of your lance at just the right spot, at just the right second. Pronounced "juhst-ing."
n. the moment you look around and realize that you're currently happy— consciously trying to savor the feeling which prompts your intellect to identify it, pick it apart, and put it in context, where it will slowly dissolve until it's little more than an aftertaste.
Ancient Greek xaós (kairos), a sublime or opportune moment +(sklerosis), hardening. Pronounced "kahy-roh-skluh-roh-sis.”
n. the dread of finally pursuing a lifelong dream, which requires you to put your true abilities out there to be tested on the open savannah, no longer protected inside the terrarium of hopes and delusions that you started up in kindergarten and kept sealed as long as you could.
German Ziel, goal + Schmerz, pain. Pronounced "zeel-shmerts."