trisackaphobia
n.— «He was writing a biographical piece on Royals third baseman Kevin Seitzer, who allowed as how he had a deep-seated fear of playing his position. The SI scribe asked if I knew of a technical term for this condition, and I boldly responded with: “Yes, it’s called ‘trisackaphobia.’” Imagine my surprise when my improvised neologism appeared in the story without either a footnote or quotation marks.» —“Words pay no debts, but ours to the Bard” by Robert F. Willson Kansas City Star (Kan., Mo.) May 29, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
What’s a gongoozler? Today a gongoozler is anyone who just stands around watching things, but the term originated in the slang of British canal workers, who specifically applied it to onlookers inordinately interested in their work. A 1904 glossary...
Novelist Charles Dickens and the musician Prince were very different types of artists, but they also had a lot in common. A new book chronicling their extraordinary careers becomes a larger meditation on perfectionism and creativity itself. Plus...