Today's word:

euroclydon (n.) a huge storm.

"But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon."

-Acts of the Apostles 27:14

Today's word means "storm". While mulling over possible approaches to presenting this in a poem, the phrase "storm in a teacup" crossed my mind. It occurred to me then that I cannot think of any better example of irony than an argument over the particular choice of wording in this analogy.

The first known phrase with this meaning was created by Cicero around 52BC...
"Exitabat fluctus in simpulo", or "stirring up billows in a ladle". Interestingly (since this is often viewed as an English vs American debate), both of the phrases referred to in the poem are believed to have originated in Scotland, in the early 19th century.

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 occurred to me it would be a fun exercise to try and write, each day, a poem featuring the "word of the day" from the book.

Thank you for reading.

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