I think we mentioned that we are the World’s Best Crossword Team (oh the tears when we accidentally broke our longest streak!) but the gift that keeps on giving is The New York Times’ Spelling Bee.

Out of the depths of the pandemic, comes this strangely un-claimed entry:

Hindpanic, n. 

/ˈhīnd/ˈpa-nik/ – informal : a sudden overpowering anxiety that you didn’t have a sufficient amount of anxiety over a past event.

cf. hindsight

Hindpanic, v.

hindpanicked

/ˈhīnd/ˈpa-​nikt/ – intransitive verb : to be affected with a sense of anxiety after experiencing a period of emotional security.

Examples of hindpanic in a sentence

// “In hindpanic, I should have been more scared to compose an email to my boss while inebriated.”

// “I’m sure I’m just hindpanicking here, but would you read over this text I received from my ex and tell me whether she’s taking a tone with me here?”