Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, December 19, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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creaky
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the Imperative MoodAlthough we can use the subjunctive mood to express commands or requests, it is becoming less common in modern English. Instead, we usually use the imperative mood to form imperative sentences when we want to issue direct orders, commands, or general instructions. Why is the imperative considered an irrealis mood? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Helicopter Parents"Helicopter parent" is a pejorative expression applied to parents who pay extremely close attention to their children, hovering closely overhead like helicopters. In Scandinavia, the phenomenon is known as "curling" parenthood—describing parents who sweep away all obstacles from their children's paths, just as athletes in the sport of curling sweep the ice in front of their stones. What device often blamed for the rise of helicopter parents has been called "the world's longest umbilical cord"? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Operation Vijay: India Annexes Daman and Diu (1961)Spanning less than 50 square miles (130 sq km) on the coast of India, Daman and Diu became Portuguese colonies in the 16th century, along with the port of Goa. After India gained independence from the UK in 1947, its government began working toward the return of all Indian colonies held by Portugal. Portugal, however, violently suppressed peaceful Indian activists opposed to its continued rule. After Indian forces invaded, how many days did it take for them to annex Daman and Diu? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Carter Godwin Woodson (1875)Born into a poor African-American family, Woodson had little formal schooling until he was in his late teens. Yet he went on to earn a PhD and become a prominent historian, author, and journalist. He devoted his life to promoting African-American education and history, founding the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History and writing, editing, and publishing books and periodicals on African-American life, history, and culture. What nationwide annual observance did he establish? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived.Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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money pit— A business, possession, or other financial commitment that requires or consumes an increasingly large amount of money, especially more than was first anticipated. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Opalia (2021)The ancient Roman fertility goddess Ops was known by several different names—among them Rhea, Cybele, Bona Dea, Magna Mater, Thya, and Tellus. She married Saturn and was the mother of Jupiter. She is usually portrayed as a matron, with a loaf of bread in her left hand and her right hand opened as if offering assistance. Not much is known about what actually took place during the Opalia, but it appears that women played an important role in the festival. Because Ops was a fertility goddess, she was often invoked by touching the earth. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: smokingstogie, stogy - A stogie (or stogy) is named for the Conestoga wagon—as drivers of the wagons rolled tobacco into thin ropes for smoking on long trips; stogies are now long, thin cigars. More... cigar - Comes from Spanish cigarro, from the Mayan verb sik'ar, "to smoke" or "smoking." More... dottle - Any tobacco left in a pipe after smoking. More... pipe dream - Originated with opium smoking. More... | |