Daily Content Archive

Word of the Day
demure Definition: (adjective) Affectedly modest or shy especially in a playful or provocative way. Synonyms: coy, overmodest Usage: Lowering her glance unexpectedly till her dark eye-lashes seemed to rest against her white cheeks, she presented a perfectly demure aspect.

Article of the Day

London's East End Once a heavily industrial area, the storied East End of London attracted large numbers of immigrants and became known for its poverty and dense population. Vividly described by Charles Dickens, the neighborhood was haunted by Jack the Ripper in 1888, decimated by World War II bombing, and hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics. Natives of the East End, called Cockneys, are known for their dialect. A traditional definition holds that to be a Cockney, one has to have been born within the sound of what? More...

This Day in History

Israeli Knesset Convenes for the First Time (1949) In 1948, following a failed attempt by the UN to divide Palestine, which had been under British mandate, the nation of Israel proclaimed its independence. The first legislative assembly, or Knesset, convened in February 1949 and succeeded the Assembly of Representatives that had functioned as the Jewish community's parliament during the Mandate era. The prime minister and the president are responsible to the Knesset, whose members are elected by popular vote. What does "knesset" mean in Hebrew? More...

Today's Birthday

Renée Fleming (1959) Fleming is an American soprano who specializes in opera and lieder, a type of German art song intended for soloists. The daughter of two music teachers, Fleming graduated from SUNY Potsdam in 1981 with a degree in music education and went on to study at Eastman School of Music and Juilliard. Her professional debut was in Austria in 1986. She has won numerous awards for her roles in opera and for the classical music she has recorded. What did Fleming do to pay for her studies at Juilliard? More...

Quotation of the Day
Promises and pie-crusts are made to be broken. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)

Idiom of the Day
make as though — To behave as if; to pretend or make it appear that. More...

Today's Holiday

Valentine's Day (2023) How St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers remains a mystery, but one theory is that the Church used the day in an attempt to Christianize the old Roman Lupercalia, a pagan festival that entailed putting girls' names in a box and letting the boys draw them out. The Church substituted saints' names for girls' names, but, by the 16th century, it was once again girls' names that ended up in the box. Eventually, the custom of sending anonymous cards or messages to those one admired became the accepted way of celebrating St. Valentine's Day. More...