Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, November 5, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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The Past Emphatic TenseWe can form a positive sentence in the past simple tense by using the past emphatic tense. It is formed by using "did" before the main verb, which is in the present tense. The emphatic past tense places special emphasis on what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Trench WarfareAlthough trenches were used in ancient and medieval warfare, they are mainly associated with WWI. Because the introduction of rapid-firing artillery made the infantry charges of earlier wars virtually impossible, opposing sides attacked and defended from sets of trenches dug into the ground in zigzag patterns. The advent of mechanized warfare made it possible to circumvent these defenses, however, and trench warfare was little used in WWII. In what more recent wars was it nevertheless employed? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Hither Green Rail Crash (1967)The Sunday evening express train from Hastings to London was traveling 70 miles per hour (113 km/h) when it struck a stressed and fractured rail not far from London's Hither Green depot. Several other trains may have successfully passed over the broken rail earlier, but the packed Hastings to London train derailed and partially overturned, killing 49 people in one of the worst rail disasters in British history. What pop singer survived the accident? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Mahmud Ghazan (1271)One of the most prominent Mongol leaders of Persia, Ghazan was raised Buddhist but converted to Islam in 1295 before inheriting his father's throne. Well educated and fluent in several languages, he tasked his vizier with composing a history of the Mongols. In Syria, he successfully fought his family's enemy, the Mamluks, but they reoccupied the area upon his departure. What European nation became so fascinated with Mongol culture in the 13th century that many children were named for Ghazan? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 What a pity that in life we only get our lessons when they are of no use to us.Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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take ill— To be or become sick or unwell. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Guy Fawkes Day (2024)On the night of November 4, 1605, 36 barrels of gunpowder were discovered beneath the Houses of Parliament in London. The conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot planned to blow up King James I to avenge laws against Roman Catholics. While Guy Fawkes didn't originate the plan, he was caught red-handed after someone tipped off the king's ministers. The following year, Parliament established November 5 as a national day of thanksgiving. Effigies of Guy Fawkes are still burned in bonfires that night, and fireworks fill the skies over Britain in remembrance of the failure of the Gunpowder Plot. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: loudhappy-clappy - Refers to any Christian congregation that is extremely enthusiastic, loud, and musical. More... stentor - Homer introduced Stentor, a very loud herald, in the Iliad—which gives us stentor, "person with a loud voice," and stentorian, which originally meant "loud, booming." More... rodomontade - Meaning loud bragging, it got its name from Rodomonto, a loud bragging Moorish king of epics. More... thersitical, clamant - To be thersitical is to be loudmouthed or foulmouthed; clamant is loud and insistent. More... | |