sub mk_tagger {
    my($tag) = @_;
    return sub { my($txt) = @_; "<$tag>$txt</$tag>" };
}
my ($bold, $underline, $italic) = map { mk_tagger($_) } qw( b u i );

print $bold->("what a " . $underline->("nice") . $italic->(" day"));

##</code><code>##

sub mk_tagger ($tag) {
    -> { "<$tag>$^txt</$tag>" }
}

##</code><code>##

tagStr :: String -> String -> String
tagStr tag text = "<" ++ tag ++ ">" ++ text ++ "</" ++ tag ++ ">"

-- now I can use it either way.
tagStr "b" "a bold moose"
underline = tagStr "u"
underline "an underlined moose"