Some experiences arrive before vocabulary catches up. Today, we’re going to catch one. THE CHALLENGE Describe an oddly specific human experience in 15 words or fewer. ✍🏾 One rule makes this interesting: ✍🏾 Use zero emotion words. ✍🏾 Give us the circumstance. Show us the behavior. Leave a little evidence behind. Then stop. Someone else in the community gets to name the experience. EXAMPLE Reopening yesterday’s message to inspect whether your punctuation somehow changed overnight. Now somebody has to name that creature. 😏 Maybe: postscriptosis /ˌpōst-skrip-ˈtō-sis/ The compulsive forensic examination of communication after its fate has already left your hands. WHEN YOU FIND SOMEONE ELSE’S EXPERIENCE… Invent the word it deserves. You can: - fuse existing words together - bend spelling until the sound fits - resurrect an obscure word - build from linguistic roots - invent something gloriously illegal Drop the word beneath their comment. Add a definition when the word asks for one. IPA pronunciation earns maximum language-nerd points. 🤓 AND IF SOMEBODY NAILS YOUR WORD… Reply: CLAIMED. That gives the word its tiny origin story right here in Aftertongue. By tonight, we may have a comment section full of experiences English somehow forgot to name. Your 15 words start below. 👇🏾