Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, June 15, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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rebarbative
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Predicative AdjectivesA predicative adjective (or predicate adjective) is used in the predicate of a clause to describe either the subject of the clause or the direct object. Predicative adjectives that describe the subject of the clause will follow a linking verb. In such cases, they are known as what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Brocken SpecterA Brocken specter is an optical phenomenon sometimes seen at high altitudes, when the observer is between the sun and a mass of clouds. The figures of the observer and surrounding objects are seen projected on the clouds, greatly enlarged and often encircled by a colorful halo. The phenomenon, named after a peak in Germany's Harz Mountains where it is often observed, can be seen on misty mountainsides, in cloud banks, and even from airplanes. What causes these shadows to appear so magnified? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Battle of Saipan Begins (1944)With an approximate area of just 45 sq mi (117 sq km), the island of Saipan was the site of some of the fiercest fighting in the Pacific theater of World War II. The US invasion in mid-June surprised the Japanese, who had expected an attack farther south. After a month of brutal fighting, the US captured Saipan and made the island a base for air attacks on the Japanese mainland. About 22,000 Saipan civilians—the majority of the population—died during the battle. Why did many commit suicide? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Ion Victor Antonescu (1882)Antonescu was dictator of Romania during World War II when his country was part of the Axis. He had a close relationship with Adolf Hitler, who lauded the Romanian's "breadth of vision." Antonescu ordered the 1941 Odessa Massacre that claimed the lives of at least 25,000 Jews, though some estimates suggest an even higher death toll. In 1944, Antonescu was overthrown in a coup and later convicted of war crimes and executed. In his final letter to his wife, what did Antonescu encourage her to do? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Often and often afterwards, the beloved Aunt would ask me why I had never told anyone how I was being treated. Children tell little more than animals, for what comes to them they accept as eternally established.Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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like there were no tomorrow— Very rapidly and eagerly; without restraint or thought (i.e., as if there won't be another opportunity, so one must do something as much or as quickly as possible). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Magna Carta Day (2021)The Magna Carta was the "great charter" of English liberties, which the tyrannical King John I was forced to sign on June 15, 1215. Although this day does not appear in the official calendar of any church, it is a day of great religious significance throughout the English-speaking world. One of the 48 personal rights and liberties guaranteed by the Magna Carta was freedom of worship; in fact, the opening words of the document were, "The Church of England shall be free." It is regarded as one of the most important documents in the history of political and human freedom. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: mailpost road - One with a series of post-houses or stations for post-horses; a road on which mail was carried. More... nixie - Any piece of mail that is unable to be forwarded because it is illegibly or incorrectly addressed. More... post - Latin posita, "placed," gave us Italian posta, "station on a road," and became French poste, "a station for mail"—from the series of stations that fast horsemen traversed to deliver messages, giving us post, as in "mail system." More... blackmail - The "mail" in blackmail is Scottish for "tax, tribute," referring to the tribute demanded by rebel chiefs in return for their protection. More... | |