As a scripting language the startup is a pain (It has been getting much needed attention just this past month and they are seeing a big improvement on that)

In terms of having a soft spot for lisp and clojure I find that Racket is the best thing ever for scratching that itch. I really am excited by clojure for scripting though.

Racket Scripting https://docs.racket-lang.org/guide/scripts.html

Certainly many little tricks to help with speed.