Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, December 12, 2024)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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dissonance
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Personal Pronouns and Subjective CaseAlthough the English language has largely discarded its case system, personal pronouns are one part of English in which the case system is still active. When a personal pronoun is in the subjective case, what is it acting as in the sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The English Civil WarThe English Civil War, which began in 1642, consisted of a series of conflicts between Parliamentarians and the Royalist supporters of King Charles I and, later, King Charles II. Ending with Parliamentary victory in 1651, the conflicts left England, Scotland, and Ireland without a monarch. After the execution of Charles I and the exile of Charles II, the monarchy was replaced with a republican commonwealth government led by Oliver Cromwell. When was Charles II restored to the throne? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Kenya Gains Independence from the United Kingdom (1963)European settlers began establishing themselves as large-scale farmers in the Kenyan highlands in 1903, taking lands from local tribes like the Kikuyu and Masai. In 1920, the British designated the interior of the region Kenya Colony and a coastal strip the Protectorate of Kenya. Africans began protesting their inferior status, and the Kikuyu staged an armed revolt in the 1950s. Britain eventually put down the rebellion, but Kenya gained its independence soon after. Who was its first president? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Edvard Munch (1863)Best known as the painter of The Scream, Munch was a Norwegian artist and an important forerunner of expressionistic art. His early life was marked by the deaths of his mother and favorite sister, and he said about his father: "From him I inherited the seeds of madness." Aestheticizing his trauma, Munch visually explored primal themes like death, sex, and fear. Reaction to his stark and sometimes fearsome images caused his first major exhibition to be closed. How did he feel about this? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I meant to write about death, only life came breaking in as usual.Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a living soul— A person (who is alive). (Often used in the negative to mean "nobody.") More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Spyridon Day (2024)St. Spyridon is the patron saint of Corfu, Zakynthos, and Kephalonia, located off the western coast of Greece. He supposedly attended the Nicene Council (325) and defended the Apostolic faith against the Arians. After his death, his relics were brought from Cyprus to Constantinople and then to Corfu in 1456. Every year a sacred relic of the saint, dressed in costly vestments, is carried through the streets on his feast day. Colorful folk festivities complete the day-long celebration. This day is celebrated on December 14 in the Roman Catholic Church. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: tobaccoblend - A combination of different types or grades of fabric, spirits, tea, tobacco, etc. More... tabac - A color, from the French for tobacco. More... cud, quid - The etymological base of cud appears to be "glutinous substance"; quid—"piece of tobacco for chewing"—is a variant of cud. More... petunia - It is related to the tobacco plant, hence its name, from Portuguese petum, "tobacco." More... | |