Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, November 5, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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affiance
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Indefinite Pronouns: People and ThingsQuite a few indefinite pronouns can be used to refer to either people or things. In such cases, we rely on context or other elements of the sentence to know which. What are some indefinite pronouns that can refer to both things and people? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The BunyipThe bunyip is a legendary monster said to inhabit swamps and lagoons of the Australian interior. Its name comes from a word meaning "evil-spirit" in Wemba-wemba, an Aboriginal language of southeast Australia. Descriptions of the bunyip vary widely. In most stories, it appears as a giant starfish-like creature, but it is also described in many accounts as having a dog-like face, dark fur, a horse-like tail, flippers, and walrus-like tusks. What phenomena could have given rise to the bunyip myth? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Gunpowder Plot Is Thwarted (1605)Angered by King James I's refusal to grant more religious toleration to Catholics, a group of conspirators plotted to blow up Parliament and kill the king. The plot was discovered, and conspirator Guy Fawkes was arrested in a cellar under the palace at Westminster, where he had concealed 36 barrels of gunpowder. Under torture, he revealed the names of his coconspirators, and they were all either killed while resisting arrest or executed in 1606. How is November 5 celebrated in England today? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 William James Durant (1885)Durant was an American historian and essayist. In 1926, he published The Story of Philosophy, which soon became a bestseller. He then began a decades-long project—the writing of a comprehensive history of civilization. The result was The Story of Civilization, a monumental, 4,000,000-word, 10,000-page work stretching from prehistory to the 19th century. The series, published in 11 volumes from 1935 to 1975, introduced millions to intellectual history. Who coauthored the work? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A most paradoxical mixture of sound and silence pervades the shady parts of the wood. The noise from the insects is so loud...; yet within the recesses of the forest a universal silence appears to reign.Charles Darwin (1809-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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false modesty— A vain or hypocritical pretense of holding a low or humble opinion of oneself, one's abilities, or one's circumstance so as to encourage others to say the opposite. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Veterans Homecoming Week (Branson, Missouri) (2019)Veterans Homecoming in Branson, Missouri, is the largest Veterans Day commemoration in the United States, with more than 50,000 veterans and their families attending annually. Events extend over the week before November 11, and include special entertainment performances, lectures, social receptions, and military memorials. Special tributes to veterans take place throughout the town, including the world's largest flying American flag, a salute to the troops on the showboat Branson Belle, and candlelight memorials remembering those who lost their lives in war. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: offerbid - Derives from Old English beodan, "to offer or command." More... carrot-and-stick - Refers to an offer of reward countered by the threat of punishment. More... blind fold - Worn by the Greek statue for justice so she cannot see the bribes being offered to her, hence, blind justice. More... cast pearls before swine - To offer something valuable to someone who does not appreciate it. More... | |