Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, April 23, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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twaddle
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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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 Joachim MuratMurat distinguished himself as a daring cavalry commander while serving with Napoleon Bonaparte in Italy and Egypt and later aided Napoleon in his 1799 coup d'état. The next year, he married Napoleon's sister Caroline and in 1808 was chosen to succeed Joseph Bonaparte as king of Naples. He continued his military leadership as well, but after Napoleon's fall, he fled to Corsica. When he tried to regain his throne, he was captured and executed. What were his instructions to the firing squad? 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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 Deep versed in books and shallow in himself.John Milton (1608-1674) | |
| 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... | |
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