Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, December 23, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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prodigal
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using Ellipses When Omitting Text from a QuotationThe most formal way ellipses are used is to indicate that some text has been omitted from a quoted sentence or passage. For what reasons would we omit text from a quotation? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Chancellor of the ExchequerThe Chancellor of the Exchequer is the UK's senior finance minister and a member of the Prime Minister's cabinet. He oversees public spending across Government departments and frames the annual budget. The office, established under Henry III, is now considered one of the four Great Offices of State. As Second Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor's official residence is 11 Downing St, next door to the home of the First Lord of the Treasury. In 1997, who actually moved into Number 11? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Seven Japanese Military Leaders Executed for War Crimes (1948)In the aftermath World War II, thousands of people in Europe and Asia were tried for war crimes. In Tokyo, US General Douglas MacArthur presided over the years-long trial of 28 high-ranking Japanese military and political leaders, all of whom were found guilty. Seven of them—including Hideki Tojo, the former prime minister of Japan—were sentenced to death. A month later, they were executed by hanging. At the execution, MacArthur defied the wishes of US President Harry S. Truman in what way? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sir Richard Arkwright (1732)Arkwright was a British textile industrialist whose inventions marked an integral step in the Industrial Revolution. His first spinning machine was patented in 1769, and with further innovations he was able to mechanize much of the fabric-production process. The huge cotton mills he founded helped bring about the factory system. Though Arkwright's patents were later disputed, his inventions nevertheless made him very wealthy. As a young man, Arkwright developed a dye for use in what product? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 For our vanity is such that we hold our own characters immutable, and we are slow to acknowledge that they have changed, even for the better.E. M. Forster (1879-1970) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be (the) bomb— To be excellent, extremely entertaining, or of very high quality. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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_01.jpg) Larentalia (2020)In ancient Rome, the lares were the beneficent spirits of household and family. Along with the penates (the gods of the storeroom) and the manes (spirits of the dead), they were worshipped privately within the home. Eventually they came to be identified with the spirits of the deceased. During the Larentalia, observed on December 23, offerings were made to the dead, especially at the shrine of Acca Larentia, the nurse of Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome. A sacrifice was offered on the spot where Acca Larentia was said to have disappeared. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: unluckydismal - Comes from French dies mali, "evil days," and first meant the 24 evil or unlucky days of the medieval calendar (two per month). More... infaust, infausting - Infaust is "unlucky" and infausting is "making unlucky." More... left-handed - Had a meaning of "unlucky" or "unseasonable." More... widdershins - Means "in a direction opposite of the usual one," but can also mean "unlucky." More... | |