Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, April 28, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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indispose
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Grading and Non-Grading AdverbsAdverbs of degree can be mild, medium, strong, or absolute in how they describe the intensity, degree, or extent of the word they modify. Adverbs that are mild, medium, or strong are known as "grading adverbs." What are "non-grading adverbs"? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 YurtsKnown by different names in different cultures, yurts are circular, domed, portable tents consisting of a framework of poles covered with felt or skins. Used by Mongolian and Turkic nomads of East and Central Asia, these dwellings are designed to be repeatedly dismantled, transported, and rebuilt. Today, the yurt also serves as a nationalistic symbol for many Central Asian groups. What part of the yurt is passed down from father to son and is featured on the Kyrgyz flag and Kazakh coat of arms? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Charles de Gaulle Resigns as President of France (1969)A celebrated general and statesman, de Gaulle was elected first president of France's Fifth Republic—a system of government with broad executive powers—in 1959. He helped write the constitution and pushed for direct popular election of the president. The mass civil unrest of May 1968 by students and workers almost toppled his government, and in 1969 de Gaulle was defeated in a referendum on constitutional amendments and resigned. He died just a year later. Whom did he bar from his funeral? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Nelle Harper Lee (1926)The daughter of an Alabama lawyer, Lee studied law before publishing her first novel in 1960. To Kill a Mockingbird, the story of a white lawyer who defends a black man falsely accused of raping a white girl, immediately found national acclaim. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was adapted for film the next year, but Lee largely stayed out of the spotlight. What did she once write in response to a school board's decision to ban her novel? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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not any hard feelings— No ill will; no resentment or anger. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Floralia (2025)An ancient Roman festival held in honor of Flora, the goddess of flowers and gardens, the Floralia was first instituted in 238 BCE. In 173 BCE, the Roman Senate made it an annual festival extending for six days—starting on the anniversary of the founding of Flora's temple. Traditionally, the first person to lay a garland on the temple's statue of Flora was destined to have good fortune. The Floralia, which featured small statues of Flora that children would decorate with flowers, is believed to have been the precedent for Christian-oriented May Day celebrations. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: shorterstore - A shortened version of the obsolete astor, "stock of provisions, supplies." More... alligator - From Spanish el lagarto, "the lizard," which may have come from Latin lacerta; the alligator has a shorter, blunter snout than a crocodile. More... telescopic umbrella - An umbrella that can become shorter. More... dog watch - A two-hour watch on board a ship, it is based on dog sleep, the light or fitful sleep typical of dogs (a catnap being even shorter). More... | |