Clog Almanac
Preserved but no longer current.
A primitive almanac or calendar, originally made of a four-square *kclog," or log of wood; the sharp edges were divided by notches into three months each, every week being marked by a bigger notch. The faces contained the saints' days, the festivals, the phases of the moon, and so on, sometimes in Runic characters, whence the "clog" was also called a "Runic staff.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Clog Almanac” mean?
A primitive almanac or calendar, originally made of a four-square *kclog," or log of wood; the sharp edges were divided by notches into three months each, every week being marked by a bigger notch. The faces contained the saints' days, the festivals, the phases of the moon, and so on, sometimes in Runic characters, whence the "clog" was also called a "Runic staff.
Is “Clog Almanac” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.