Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, April 23, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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apostasy
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Phrasal VerbsPhrasal verbs are verb phrases that have idiomatic meanings—that is, their meaning is not obvious from the individual words that make up the phrase. What parts of speech typically make up a phrasal verb? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 CaribouCaribou, or reindeer, are wild, North American arctic and subarctic deer that are capable of traveling 3,000 mi (5,000 km) a year and reaching speeds of up to 50 mph (80 km/h). Each year, millions of caribou in northern Canada and Alaska migrate in large herds, using their wide, sharp-edged hooves to travel on snow and ice and even swim across wide lakes or rivers. Caribou derive their name from a word in the Mi'kmaq language meaning "snow-shoveler"—a reference to their habit of doing what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 "New Coke" Introduced (1985)"New" Coke was the sweeter drink introduced in 1985 by The Coca-Cola Company to replace its flagship soda, Coca-Cola. The move was intended to cater to an apparent public preference for a sweeter soft drink and to combat Pepsi's growing popularity. Public reaction was devastating, with thousands voicing disapproval, and the new cola quickly entered the pantheon of major marketing flops. What happened when Coke's original formula, renamed "Coca-Cola Classic," was reintroduced? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 William Shakespeare (1564)Though his true date of birth remains unknown, the birthday of famed playwright and poet William Shakespeare is traditionally observed on April 23, the same day on which he died 52 years later. Since his death, his plays, such as Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, have been performed and studied all over the world. Some scholars have speculated that Shakespeare did not write all of the works attributed to him. Who do they suggest was responsible for authoring the Shakespearean canon? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I've been a great deal happier ... since I have given up thinking about what is easy and pleasant, and being discontented because I couldn't have my own will. Our life is determined for us—and it makes the mind very free when we give up wishing, and only think of bearing what is laid upon us, and doing what is given us to do.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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salad years— A carefree time of youthful innocence, ingenuousness, and inexperience. A variant of the more common "salad days," which itself is taken from Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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Shakespeare's Birthday (2022)No one really knows the exact date of William Shakespeare's birth, although he was baptized on April 26, 1564, and died on April 23, 1616. April 23 is also St. George's Day, and this may be why it was decided to observe the birth of England's greatest poet and dramatist on the feast day of England's patron saint. Special pageants are held at Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, where Shakespeare was born and where thousands of tourists go each year to see his plays performed. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: summitcolophon - A crowning or finishing touch, from Greek kolophon, "summit" or "finishing stroke." More... knoll - The summit or rounded top of a mountain or hill, it seems to derive from Old Teutonic knoo-lo, meaning "ball, clod, knot." More... acrobat - Derived from Greek akrobatos, "walking on tiptoe," from Greek akron, "summit," and baino, "walk." More... | |