Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, December 14, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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superfluity
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining ClausesClauses are groups of words that contain both a subject and a predicate. There are two main types of clauses: independent clauses (which can function independently as sentences) and dependent clauses. What do dependent clauses depend on? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Russkaya PravdaThe Russkaya Pravda was the legal code that grew out of common law and the feudal regulations of the medieval state known as Kievean Rus, the earliest predecessor of modern Ukraine and Russia. Codified by Yaroslav the Wise in the 11th century, it bears a resemblance to contemporary German law but is unique in its omission of capital punishment. It originally allowed the avenging of a murder, but the penalty was later limited to a hefty fine. How was guilt established in the absence of witnesses? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Group of Explorers Reaches South Pole (1911)Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen had been planning for a trip to the North Pole until he heard that someone had beaten him to it. Instead, he and his team set sail for Antarctica. There, they spent nearly a year preparing for the final two-month trek that made them the first people to reach the South Pole. With good equipment and plenty of sled dogs, the team was extremely well prepared compared to other polar expeditions of the day, some of which ended badly. How was their clothing better? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 George VI, King of Great Britain and Ireland (1895)The subject of the Academy Award-winning 2010 film The King's Speech, George VI became king of the United Kingdom following the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII. George was an important symbolic leader of the British people during World War II, supporting the wartime leadership of Winston Churchill and visiting his armies on the battlefield. He earned the respect of his people by scrupulously observing the responsibilities of a constitutional monarch and by overcoming what handicap? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I don't like compliments, and I don't see why a man should think he is pleasing a woman enormously when he says to her a whole heap of things that he doesn't mean.Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a mixed picture— A portrayal of a situation highlighting both positive and negative aspects of its nature or status. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Christmas Bird Count (2021)The Christmas Bird Count is an international event sponsored annually by the National Audubon Society, from December 14–January 5. Each group of volunteers is assigned a specific geographic area and asked to record the number and species of birds they see. Counts take place in all 50 states, every Canadian province, parts of Central and South America, Bermuda, the West Indies, and Pacific Islands. The data gathered every year helps the Audubon Society and scientists worldwide to understand the status and distribution of bird populations in early winter. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: pleasantamicable, amiable - Amicable implies being well disposed; amiable is acting well disposed and is commonly applied only to people—though sometimes it is used for occasions, while amicable is not applied to people at all but to human interactions and their outcomes. Amiable first meant "kind" or "lovely, lovable," and amicable first applied to things and meant "pleasant, benign." More... jolly - Comes from Old French jolif, "merry, festive, pleasant." More... merry - First meant "peaceful" or "pleasant," which is what it first meant in "Merry Christmas." More... | |