Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, September 8, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Understanding the Order of AdjectivesAdjectives are words that modify a noun or a pronoun. Using more than one adjective in a sentence makes our writing and speech richer and more concise. In English, we generally have a specific order of adjectives. Why is this important? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 First-Person ShootersFirst-person shooters are action video games in which players use handheld weapons to shoot targets in game worlds rendered from the visual perspective of the player characters. These types of games were the first to make extensive use of multiplayer gaming. Among the most popular video games on the market today, first-person shooters are also the subject of controversy due to their graphic depictions of violence and killing. What games are landmarks of the genre? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Delano Grape Strike Begins (1965)In late 1965, California grape workers went on strike to protest poor pay and labor conditions. Labor leader César Chávez soon took up their cause, and in 1966, he and his followers began a 340-mi (547-km) trek from Delano to the state capitol to raise awareness of the farm workers' plight. The march began with 75 people and ended in a rally of 10,000 people on the capitol steps. Many Americans rallied to their cause and boycotted table grapes. The strike lasted five years and accomplished what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Alfred Jarry (1873)Jarry was a French writer. After exhausting the inheritance that had allowed him to move to Paris at 18, he led a life of calculated buffoonery. His 1896 farce, Ubu Roi, is considered a forerunner of theatre of the absurd and of Surrealism. It featured the grotesque Père Ubu, a repulsive and cowardly hero based on one of his former teachers. The brilliant imagery and wit of his works usually lapse into unintelligible symbolism. A heavy drinker, he died at 34. What was his last request? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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salt in the/(one's) wound(s)— An aggravation that makes something unpleasant, difficult, or painful even worse. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Andorra National Day (2023)The Principality of Andorra, located in the Pyrénées Mountains between France and Spain, was founded by the Emperor Charlemagne. The people of Andorra celebrate their National Day by honoring Jungfrau von Meritxell, their patron saint. Pilgrims climb to her hilltop sanctuary near the villages of Encamp and Canillo, where her statue was found by a shepherd under an almond tree blooming out of season. The pilgrims stop to refresh themselves with drinks that have been cooled in the nearby springs, and after the sermon they celebrate by dancing and eating lamb grilled on slabs of slate. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sailscrab-skuit - A small, open fishing boat with sails. More... haul - Originally had the nautical meaning of "to trim the sails to sail closer to the wind." More... sail - Once meant specifically "to travel on a ship with sails," and, later, "to travel on any ship"; figuratively, it means "to go through effortlessly," as in, "to sail through the exam." More... three sheets to the wind - Pertains to chains that regulate the angle of sails; if the sheets were loose, the boat would become unstable and tipsy. More... | |