Today’s list of the day is “what Christmas means to me, my love,” a sweet stream of words like chocolate, joy, and evergreen.
Author Archives: Grant Barrett
Qualtagh and Nollick Ghennal
Today’s word of the day is qualtagh, defined by The Century Dictionary as a Christmas or New Year’s ceremony on the Isle of Man, or one who takes part in the ceremony. The dictionary quotes Creegen’s Dictionary of the Manx Language, which says more completely: “The first person met on New Year’s Day, or on going on some new work &c. A company of young lads or men, generally went in old times on what they termed the Qualtagh, at Christmas or New Year’s Day, to the house of their more wealthy neighbours; some one of the company repeating in an audible voice the following rhyme:
“Ollick ghennal erriu as bleïn feer vie,
Seihll as slaynt da’n slane lught thie;
Bea as gennallys eu bio ry-cheilley,
Shee as graih eddyr mraane as deiney;
Cooid as cowryn, stock as stoyr.
Palchey phuddase, as skaddan dy-liooar;
Arran as caashey, eeym as roayrt;
Baase, myr lugh, ayns uhllin ny soalt;
Cadley sauchey tra vees shiu ny lhie,
As feeackle y jargan, nagh bee dy mie.
“When this was repeated they were then invited in to partake of the best that the house could afford.”
Merry Christmas in Manx is “Ollick ghennal ” or “Nollick ghennal.” More about folklore about qualtagh can be be found in the The Folk-Lore of the Isle of Man.
Nincompoopery
Today’s list of the day is “nincompoopery“, words that clatter and tumble, such as pettifogger, scrimshanker, and lickspittle.
V-neck
Today’s word of the day is V-neck, a V-shaped neckline, such as on a sweater. To illustrate this word, we give you the Flickr group V-necks on men.
Favorite five-letter words
Today’s list of the day is “favorite five-letter words,” by user chained_bear. It includes gems like okapi, sprue, and shard.
Kebab
Today’s word of the day is kebab, short form of shish kebab (sometimes cabob), a dish consisting of pieces of seasoned meat and sometimes vegetables roasted on skewers and served with condiments.
Ersatz
Today’s word of the day is ersatz, which means “artificial” or “made an imitation or as a substitute, usually an inferior one.” It’s from German, in which it means “replacement,” and ultimately from ersetzen, meaning “to replace.”