Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, June 7, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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pestle
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Correlative ConjunctionsCorrelative conjunctions, or paired conjunctions, are sets of conjunctions that are always used together. Like coordinating conjunctions, they join words, phrases, or independent clauses of similar or equal importance and structure. How do they differ from coordinating conjunctions? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The MinaretMost mosques have one or more towers, called minarets, from which a muezzin calls Muslims to prayer. The earliest building to bear structures specifically built as minarets was Egypt’s Mosque of Amr. Built in 643 CE, it possessed four square towers at its corners. Not all minarets are square, however; there are also octagonal, cylindrical, and conical minarets. Styles vary regionally and by period. How many times does the muezzin issue the call to prayer each day? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)The Treaty of Tordesillas divided newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along an agreed-upon meridian approximately halfway between the Cape Verde Islands belonging to Portugal and Cuba and Hispaniola, claimed for Spain by Columbus. The Europeans had actually seen very little of the lands within the territory they were dividing, and the result was that Spain gained most of the Americas while Portugal gained Brazil. What nation invoked the treaty in the 20th century? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (1778)Brummell was an English dandy and wit who was greatly admired for his fastidious appearance and confident manner. The leader of English fashion of his time, he influenced men of society to wear dark, simply cut clothes, elaborate neckwear, and trousers rather than breeches. After a quarrel with his friend Prince George of Wales, later King George IV, and deeply in debt from gambling, Brummell fled to France, where he struggled for 14 years before attaining what position? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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Hell hath no fury like a (certain type of person) scorned— No one will have a greater wrath or vengeance than (this type of person) when he or she has been wronged. A hyperbolic and often humorous play on the phrase "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," in which any person, demographic, or profession may be substituted for "woman." More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Great American Brass Band Festival (2019)This weekend re-creation of the golden age of brass bands in America is held at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. About a dozen bands from throughout the U.S. and Canada play Sousa march music, ragtime, and jazz in the New Orleans funeral-march style. A highlight is a band playing over-the-shoulder instruments of the Civil War period; the music blew to the rear of the band so it could be heard by the troops marching behind. The festival begins with a hot-air balloon race, and music then continues through the weekend. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: slimeasphalt - Its synonyms are mineral pitch, Jews' pitch, and slime. More... ooze - As in mud or slime, it traces back to an Old Norse word meaning "puddle, stagnant pool," and originally meant juice or sap from a plant or fruit. More... slime - Related to Latin limus, "mud, slime." More... mucous, mucus - Mucous is the adjective from Latin meaning "slimy," and mucus is the noun from Latin but cognate with Greek mussesthai, "blow the nose." More... | |