Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, September 13, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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auxiliary
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adjective PhrasesAn adjective phrase is an adjective and any additional information linked to it that work together to describe a noun or pronoun in a sentence. How does an adjective phrase differ from an adjectival phrase? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 SigilsA sigil is a symbol, usually composed of a complex combination of meaningful symbols or geometric figures, that has a specific magical purpose. In medieval ceremonial magic, the term was used to refer to the occult signs that were believed to represent individual angels and demons and which were used by magicians to summon and control these beings. Sigils are also commonly found in Jewish mysticism and Kabbalistic magic and are used by practitioners of what type of magic? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Nintendo Releases Super Mario Bros. (1985)Super Mario Bros., one of the first side-scrolling platform games, helped to usher in the modern video game era. With expansive worlds and precise controls that marked a dramatic departure from its predecessors, the game sold more than 40 million units, making it the second-best-selling video game of all time. It also helped revitalize the video game industry and made Nintendo one of the world's most recognized video game manufacturers. What is the best-selling game of all time? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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.jpg) Sherwood Anderson (1876)After serving briefly in the Spanish-American War, Anderson became a successful advertising man and then manager of a paint factory before suffering a nervous breakdown. Dissatisfied with his life, he abandoned both his family and his job to devote himself to writing. His best-known work is the short story collection Winesburg, Ohio, and his prose style, based on everyday speech, influenced writers Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner. He died after accidentally swallowing what object? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 What terrified me will terrify others; and I need only describe the specter which had haunted my midnight pillow.Mary Shelley (1797-1851) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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brace of shakes— Instantly, quickly, or in an extremely short amount of time, as of a task or event. "Brace," taken from the old French for the arms' breadth from hand to hand, means twice; the phrase as a whole refers either to an old nautical term, meaning the time it takes the sail to shake twice as it takes up the wind, or else the short time it takes to shake a dice-box twice. Often used in the phrase "in a brace of shakes." More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Avening Pig Face Day (2020)A number of explanations have been offered for the custom of eating pig's face sandwiches on the Sunday nearest Holy Cross Day (September 14) in the Cotswold village of Avening, England. One involves Matilda of Flanders (d. 1083), the wife of William the Conqueror. She built a church there that was completed on September 14, and the Queen is said to have held a boar's head dedication feast. Today there is an evening anniversary service, after which the villagers participate in an 11th-century banquet headed by Queen Matilda and other historic characters in period costume. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: occupationaptronym - A name that fits a person's nature or occupation, like Jane House for a real estate agent. More... mechanical - Predates "machine" in English and has long had certain separate senses, such as "an art, trade, or occupation: concerned with manual work" and "practical as opposed to theoretical." More... specialization, specialty - Specialization refers to the process of becoming specialized; specialty refers to a special pursuit, occupation, or product. More... study - Based on Latin studium, "painstaking application, zeal" (from studere, "to be zealous"), study's earliest uses are surprising: "affection, friendliness," an "occupation or pursuit," and "a state of reverie or abstraction; state of perplexity." More... | |