Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, May 2, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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funereal
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining MitigatorsMitigators, a subset of adverbs of degree, are adverbs or adverbials that modify adjectives and adverbs to reduce their intensity, making them seem less extreme or powerful. "Slightly" is an example of a mitigator. What are some others? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Golden HordeThe Golden Horde—the Russian designation for the western part of the Mongol empire—flourished from the mid-13th century to the end of the 14th century. The name is traditionally said to derive from the golden tent of Batu, Genghis Khan's grandson, who expanded the domain of the Golden Horde in a series of campaigns that included the sacking and burning of Kiev in 1240. At its peak, its territory included most of European Russia. The outbreak of what disease in 1346 contributed to its downfall? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Battle of Alcatraz Begins (1946)The Battle of Alcatraz followed an escape attempt from Alcatraz Island's federal penitentiary by six inmates who got stuck inside a cellhouse after failing to secure a key to the prison yard. Trapped, the inmates took the guards prisoner and took control of the cellhouse. The US Marines were called in, and two guards and three inmates died in the ensuing confrontation. Two inmates were later executed for their role in the incident. How long was it before the next attempted escape from Alcatraz? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Yongle Emperor (1360)Born Zhu Di, the Yongle Emperor was the favorite son of the founder of China's Ming dynasty. He spent his youth developing a military career but was passed over for the throne. He rebelled and seized the throne from his nephew in 1402. As emperor, he greatly extended China's scope and influence. He moved the capital to Beijing, built the Forbidden City, and sponsored the compilation of an immense encyclopedia of Chinese culture and history. What was the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 To criticize is to appreciate, to appropriate, to take intellectual possession, to establish in fine a relation with the criticized thing and to make it one's own.Henry James (1843-1916) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have (some/any) qualms about (something or someone)— To have some or certain hesitations, apprehensions, uneasiness, or pangs of conscience (about something or someone). (Also often used in the negative to mean the opposite.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Festival of Sant' Efisio (2025)The Sagra di Sant' Efisio at Cagliari, in Sardinia, Italy, commemorates the martyrdom of a 3rd-century Roman general who was converted to Christianity and credited with saving the town from the plague. On May 1, a procession accompanies a statue of St. Efisio through the streets of Cagliari to the church of Pula, the town where he suffered martyrdom. Three days later, the statue returns to Cagliari. Several thousand pilgrims, wearing costumes that date from the 17th century and earlier, take part in the procession, which culminates in a parade down Cagliari's main avenue. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: nimbleagile - Means having quick motion and being nimble, from Latin agere, "to do." More... flippant - Once meant "flexible, nimble, pliant." More... chopsticks - In Chinese, the word for chopsticks originally meant "quick sticks" or "nimble ones." More... wieldy - Means "easily controlled or handled," and once meant "agile, nimble." More... | |