Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, March 10, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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precipitancy
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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When Not to Use a SemicolonAlthough semicolons function in ways similar to both commas and periods, they do not have the exact function of either: they are stronger than a comma but weaker than a period, so it is not always appropriate to substitute one for the other. With what types of clauses would we not use a semicolon? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Corsned: The Morsel of ExecrationIn Anglo-Saxon times, the corsned was a common "trial by ordeal" in which an accused person was given a chance to prove their innocence by undergoing a physical test—in the case of the corsned, swallowing a small piece of bread or cheese. If the morsel of food—which had been blessed by a priest—stuck in the throat of the accused, it was taken as a sure sign of guilt. History records at least one instance of that very outcome. What common phrases may have originally referenced the corsned? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 French Foreign Legion Founded (1831)The French Foreign Legion is a unit of the French Army largely composed of foreigners and commanded by French officers. It was created by King Louis Phillipe in 1831 to keep potential dissidents busy fighting for France rather than against it. Because enlistment historically required no official identification, many criminals joined under assumed names to hide their unsavory backgrounds. What are the two ways foreign-born legionnaires can earn the right to apply for French citizenship? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués (1844)Sarasate was a Spanish violinist and composer. He began studying the violin with his bandmaster father at age five, and at his first public concert at age eight, he impressed a wealthy patron and was sent to study in Madrid. There, Queen Isabel II gave him the Stradivarius violin that he would play for the rest of his life. He made his Paris debut in 1860 and commenced touring the world. He wrote scores of brilliant virtuoso works, some of which are still played today. Where are his violins now? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 All rising to great place is by a winding stair.Francis Bacon (1561-1626) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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many happy returns of the day— I wish you a very happy birthday and many more like it in the future. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Commonwealth Day (2025)From 1903 until 1957, this holiday in honor of the British Empire was known as Empire Day and celebrated on May 24, Queen Victoria's birthday. Between 1958 and 1966, it was called British Commonwealth Day. Then it was switched to Queen Elizabeth II's official birthday in June, and the name was shortened to Commonwealth Day. It is now observed annually on the second Monday in March. In Canada it is still celebrated on May 24 (or the Monday before) and referred to as Victoria Day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: robbribe - From Old French, it was originally a piece of bread given to beggars; the original sense of bribe is "extort, rob." More... clip joint - Based on clip, meaning "swindle, rob." More... pilfer - Originally, pilfering was a serious matter, synonymous with plundering, but it came to mean "stealing small things"; its source was Anglo-Norman pelfrer, "plunder, rob." More... plunder - Etymologically, it means "rob of household goods," from Dutch plunde/plunne, "household goods." More... | |