Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, February 3, 2023)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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didactic
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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AppositivesAn appositive is a noun that serves to describe or rename another noun (or pronoun) that appears directly before it in a sentence. When an appositive is made up of a noun phrase, what is it called? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 FilibustersA filibuster is an obstructionist tactic used in legislative assemblies. It is particularly associated with the US Senate, where the tradition of unlimited debate is strong, and it has been used by conservatives and liberals for very different purposes. It was not until 1917 that the Senate provided for cloture—or ending of the debate—by a vote of two-thirds of the Senators present. Yet, despite many attempts, cloture has been applied only rarely. What is the etymology of the term "filibuster"? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Contested Kentucky Governor Dies of Gunshot Wounds (1900)At the time he was shot on the grounds of Kentucky's state capitol, William Goebel was not a well-liked man—nor had he technically won the heavily contested 1899 Kentucky gubernatorial election. However, he lived just long enough to be declared governor and sworn into office, making him the only state governor in US history to have been assassinated. The identity of his assassin remains a mystery. Several years before his murder, Goebel shot a political foe in the head. What prompted their duel? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Antonio José de Sucre (1795)One of the most respected leaders of the Latin American wars for independence, Sucre was a close friend and chief lieutenant of Simón Bolívar. He was an able military leader, yet he was known for his kindness to those he defeated. Against his will, he became president of the newly created state of Bolivia and soon resigned. He later returned to service to help repel a Peruvian invasion. At the age of 35, he was waylaid in a mountainous region and killed. He was buried not in Bolivia, but where? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Success comes to a writer, as a rule, so gradually that it is always something of a shock to him to look back and realize the heights to which he has climbed.P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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you shouldn't have— A message of thanks for a (usually unexpected) gift. Can be used sincerely or sarcastically. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Setsubun (Bean-Throwing Festival) (2024)Setsubun is a ceremony observed in all major temples throughout Japan to mark the last day of winter according to the lunar calendar. People throng temple grounds where the priests or stars such as actors and sumo wrestlers throw dried beans to the crowd who shout, "Fortune in, goblins out!" Some people also decorate their doorways with sardine heads, because the evil spirits don't like their smell. Beans caught at the temple are brought home to drive out evil there. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: leavingdrawing room - A shortening of withdrawing room, the room to which the ladies withdrew, leaving the men to smoking and drinking. More... egression - The action of going out or leaving a place. More... bequeath - Etymologically, what you bequeath is what you "say" you will leave someone in your will—but the original sense "say, utter" died out, leaving the legal sense. More... exclaustration - Being expelled from or leaving a religious retreat; it is also the return to secular life by someone who has been released from their religious vows. More... | |