My much-treasured Christmas present for 2017 is a book by Paul Anthony Jones: "The cabinet of linguistic curiosities". Each page contains a descriptive story about some obscure or archaic word. It occured to me today (the first of 2018) it would be a fun exercise to try and write, each day, a poem featuring the "word of the day" from the book. So that's my intention, until I run out of steam. I'll try to write one every day, although I may not be able to post every single day.

To kick it off, Jones has chosen a very appropriate first offering:

Quaaltagh (n.) The first person you meet on New Year's Day. Thought to influence your fortunes for the year.

Pronounced "quoll-tukh" with a raspy ending, similar to the "gh" sound at the end of "loch". The roots lie in the Celtic Isle of Man language, Manx.

Thanks for reading.

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