Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, June 13, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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carrel
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Aspects of the Past TenseWe use different aspects with verbs in the past tense to describe exactly how an event is structured in relation to a point in time in the past. When is the past perfect continuous used? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Crystal GazingAlso called crystal gazing, scrying is the magical practice of divining the past, present, or future by gazing into a usually reflective, translucent, or luminescent medium, such as crystal, mirror, water, or fire. The Cup of Jamshid, described in Persian mythology as a magical cup containing an elixir of immortality, is said to have revealed to the observer all the layers of the universe. Mirrors, meanwhile, have been said to reveal what to young women who gaze into them in a darkened room? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 "The Cinderella Man" Becomes World Heavyweight Champion (1935)For budding boxer James J. Braddock, 1929 was a bad year. The promising pugilist narrowly lost a 15-round championship fight and, months later, the Great Depression struck. Braddock, struggling to support his family and losing many more bouts than he won, eventually gave up boxing to work the docks. In 1934, he returned to the ring, and a year later, he landed a title shot against Max Baer. Braddock was a 10-to-1 underdog but won in a stunning upset. Who beat Braddock for the title in 1937? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 William Butler Yeats (1865)Considered Ireland's greatest lyric poet and a major figure of 20th-century literature, Yeats was the acknowledged leader of the Irish literary renaissance. His early work centers on Irish mythology and themes and is mystical, slow-paced, and lyrical. His later verse is stronger, more physical, and realistic. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923. After proposing to—and being rejected by—his love interest Maud Gonne on numerous occasions, Yeats turned his attentions toward whom? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 She might yet be able to help him to the building of the rainbow bridge that should connect the prose in us with the passion. Without it we are meaningless fragments, half monks, half beasts, unconnected arches that have never joined into a man.E. M. Forster (1879-1970) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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the end of (one's) rope— A point of utter exhaustion or exasperation; a point or state at which one has no more patience, endurance, or energy left. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Gaspee Days (2022)The British revenue schooner Gaspee was sent to the American colonies to reinforce various British revenue laws, including the Townshend Acts of 1767. The colonists at Rhode Island burned the ship on June 10, 1772, in what many regard as the first act of rebellion leading up to the Revolutionary War. Since 1966 the event has been commemorated in a festival that includes a symbolic reenactment of the burning, a fife and drum muster, a colonial parade, numerous athletic events, and a gala ball, which take place in both Cranston and Warwick, Rhode Island. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: leadercoryphaeus - A Greek word meaning "chief," for the leader of a party, sect, school of thought, etc. More... herald - Etymologically, a "leader of an army," from Germanic kharjaz, "army." More... hegemon - A Greek word for "leader." More... nestorian, nestor - Nestorian means wise and aged, and a nestor is a senior figure or leader in one's field. More... | |