Daily Content Archive

(as of Friday, March 17, 2023)
Word of the Day

putsch

Definition:(noun) A sudden attempt by a group to overthrow a government.
Synonyms:coup, coup d'etat, takeover
Usage: The people had been expecting a putsch for years, but they were surprised to wake up one morning and find themselves the subjects of a new government.
Daily Grammar Lesson

The Mixed Conditional

A very commonly used "fifth" conditional is what's known as the "mixed conditional," which is a cross between the third conditional and the second. What are the two ways to form a mixed conditional? More...
Article of the Day

Bagels

A bagel is a yeast-raised, doughnut-shaped roll with a hard crust. The dough, sometimes flavored, is chilled, then dropped briefly into nearly boiling water, and then baked. A 1610 document from Krakow mentions “beygls” given as gifts to women in childbirth, but the document is not clear as to what a “beygl” is. Ashkenazi immigrants brought the bagel to New York City in the 1880s, but it didn't become popular in North America until when? More...
This Day in History

Veder Snaps Pulitzer Prize-Winning Burst of Joy (1973)

Taken at the end of the Vietnam War, Slava "Sal" Veder's Burst of Joy became a symbol of the widespread sentiment in America that the horrors of war were over and military families could begin the healing process. The photo captures the return home of Lt. Col. Robert Stirm, who had been shot down over North Vietnam and held as a prisoner of war for over five years. It shows his children running to greet him on the tarmac, his daughter with open arms. Why was the reunion bittersweet? More...
Today's Birthday

Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones, Jr. (1902)

A practicing attorney, Jones was only an amateur golfer, yet in 1930 he became the only man to win four major golf championships in a single year and the only sports figure to be honored with two New York City ticker-tape parades. At 28, he had already won 13 major championships. He was hailed for his sportsmanship when he lost a major tournament by one stroke after calling a penalty on himself for an infraction that no one else saw. What was the infraction, and what tournament did he lose? More...
Quotation of the Day
In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.

Edith Wharton (1862-1937)

Idiom of the Day

Marie Celeste

A place, location, or high-occupancy vehicle (especially a ship) that is inexplicably deserted or abandoned. An allusion to the Mary Celeste, an American merchant brigantine that was discovered floating off the Azores Islands in 1872 with no one on board and still in seaworthy condition. (Note: The variant spelling of "Marie" is the more common usage for the idiomatic reference, likely due to its use in a story by Arthur Conan Doyle.) More...
Today's Holiday

St. Patrick's Day Parade (Savannah, Georgia) (2025)

This parade is one of the oldest and biggest parades in the US, held since 1824 in Savannah, Georgia, a city with a long Irish history. The first public procession was recorded in 1824, and public parades have been held ever since. Today, the parade, which follows a route through the city's historic district, comprises between 200 and 300 separate units, including family groups, commercial floats, high school bands, and military bands and marching units. The day begins with Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. More...
Word Trivia

Today's topic: mysterious

arcane - Meaning "hidden, secret; mysterious, abstruse," it is from Latin arcere, "shut up," from arca, "chest." More...

god moves in a mysterious way, the worse for wear, variety is the spice of life - "God moves in a mysterious way" originated with poet William Cowper—as did the phrases "the worse for wear" and "variety is the spice of life." More...

handwriting on the wall, writing on the wall - Handwriting on the wall (or writing on the wall) comes from the Bible (Daniel 5:5-31), in which the prophet interprets some mysterious writing that a disembodied hand has inscribed on the palace wall, telling King Belshazzar that he will be overthrown. More...

fluence - To put the fluence on is to use one's mysterious, magical, or hypnotic power. More...

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