There's a great FAQ post at the beginning of the blog (http://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/269599704/frequently-asked-questions http://www.dictionary

There's a great FAQ post at the beginning of the blog (http://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/269599704/frequently-asked-questions http://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/269599704/fre...). The answer to your last question can be found there; I copied it below :) ----------- Q. “Are these words real or do you make them up?” –silhouetteme Both. They’re real words, that are made up by me. I use the standard of realness established by lexicographer Erin McKean: “People say to me, ‘How do I know if a word is real?’ You know, anybody who’s read a children’s book knows that love makes things real. If you love a word, use it. That makes it real. Being in the dictionary is an arbitrary distinction; it doesn’t make a word any more real than any other way. If you love a word, it becomes real.”