A 16th-century trompe l’oeil book by a painter of the German school.

kar-ne-val-sprinz-en-shvise

A denial too preposterous to be believed

PARTY-prince-sweat

bilt-shmeer-in-fek-tsyohn

hating on social media those whom you otherwise adore

computer-screen-smear infection

foy-er-pow-zen-vee-gen-leet

The interval between gun massacres that permits normalcy to creep back

cease-fire lullaby

tin-ten-blint-hite

Yearning for the days when you used to read books

ink blindness

var-hites-shpritz-er

The arrogant rejection of medical fact

truth inoculation

mar-ree-kon-dough-lentz

The futility of gift-giving in an age of excess

Marie (Kondo) Condolence

shlar-flows-tas-ter

The midnight urge to watch just one more episode

insomnia button

vesh-er-kla-mer-varl

holding your nose as you cast your vote

clothesPIN election

Ben Schott is the author of Schottenfreude: German Words for the Human Condition