Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, January 25, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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begrudge
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using Idioms that Start with PrepositionsMost idioms that start with prepositions are prepositional phrases and consist of a preposition followed by a noun or noun phrase. How can this type of prepositional idiom be used in a sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Moscow TrialsDuring the Soviet Union's Great Purge in the 1930s, a series of show trials were conducted to eliminate the potential rivals and critics of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Accused of conspiring to remove Stalin from power, many prominent Bolsheviks were found guilty on the basis of confessions that had either been obtained through torture or had been fabricated. They were then imprisoned or executed. At one trial, the defendants "confessed" in exchange for what promise that Stalin later broke? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Emmy Awards for Excellence in Television (1949)The Emmy Awards are given for outstanding achievement in US television. They are presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which was founded in 1946 and which held the first award ceremony in 1949. Its members vote on outstanding programs, actors, directors, and writers in such categories as drama, comedy, and variety. The Emmy's name is taken from the nickname "immy" for the image orthicon, a television camera tube. Who won the very first Emmy? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Anne of Brittany (1477)Upon her father's death in 1488, Anne became the sovereign duchess of Brittany—and her hand in marriage became very valuable. When she was forced to become queen of France by marrying Charles VIII at age 14, her marriage contract stipulated that whichever spouse survived the longest could keep Brittany. Charles died first, but Anne was then forced to marry his successor. Until her death, she fought in vain to preserve Brittany's autonomy within France. Who was technically her first husband? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I at least have so much to do in unraveling certain human lots, and seeing how they were woven and interwoven, that all the light I can command must be concentrated on this particular web, and not dispersed over that tempting range of relevancies called the universe.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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low man on the ladder— The person (not necessarily male) with the least amount of experience, authority, and/or influence in a social or corporate hierarchy. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Festival of the Cow (2025)The Fiesta de la Vaca takes place in the village of San Pablo de los Montes, in the Spanish province of Toledo, on St. Paul's Day. While the religious procession and mass for the feast of San Pablo are going on, a group of young men form a counter-procession in the opposite direction. One of them plays the role of the cow, La Vaca, while another is dressed as Mother Sow, Madre Cochina. A third is dressed as a shepherd, and there are others ringing cow bells. Every time the group passes the image of the saint, they call out, "Here goes the cow!" More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: swordsheath - Seems to have first been a split stick that a sword could be inserted into. More... spades - As a suit in a deck of cards, it has nothing to do with spades as tools, but comes from Spanish espada, "sword." More... spay - A shortening of a French word espeer, meaning "cut with a sword." More... gladiator, gladiate - The main Latin word for sword was gladius, from which came gladiator; gladiate is an adjective meaning sword-shaped. More... | |