liminal space

plural liminal spaces

1. aestheticA depiction of an empty or abandoned place, often made to appear unsettling, surreal, or nostalgic.

   1 more example

   In fact, the most uncanny contemporary liminal spaces combine the familiarity of, say, a New York City tourist magnet with an unnatural emptiness. Then again, a liminal space can be somewhere you could imagine dreaming about or seeing on TV. It can be tinged with tragedy or just inexplicably sad in its ordinariness. Liminal spaces can be both comforting and discomforting, nostalgic and unsettling, intimate and unnatural.

   2022 November 1, Jake Pitre, “The Eerie Comfort of Liminal Spaces”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 01 Nov 2022

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see liminal, space.

   Michael Kinnan's sendup of "Titanic" explores the liminal space between tribute and affectionate satire.

   2021 September 30, Elisabeth Vincentelli, “Review: In 'Never Let Go,' a Solo Performer's Heart Goes On”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 Dec 2022