Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, June 2, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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passel
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Participle PhrasesParticiples are words formed from verbs that can function as adjectives, as gerunds, or to form the continuous and perfect tenses of verbs. What is a dangling modifier? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Hackers: White Hat and Black HatThough the term hacker has become synonymous with someone who illegally exploits computer system vulnerabilities, the different aims and approaches of members of the hacking subculture create certain distinctions. White hat hackers, for example, breach security ethically and for altruistic reasons, while black hat hackers engage in malicious criminal attacks. The colorful terms derive from cowboy films in which villains often wear black hats and heroes wear white ones. What is a blue hat hacker? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Pontiac's Rebellion: Ojibwas Capture Fort Michilimackinac (1763)In 1763, immediately after the French and Indian Wars, several Native American tribes allied against the British in an uprising that became known as Pontiac's Rebellion, after the Ottawa leader Pontiac. They captured and destroyed many British outposts. On the day of the surprise attack on Fort Michilimackinac, the Ojibwas, or Chippewas, approached the fort without arousing suspicion among the watching British soldiers by staging a game of baaga'adowe—the precursor of what modern sport? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Edward Elgar (1857)Elgar was an English composer whose oratorio The Dream of Gerontius is considered one of the finest examples of English choral music in history. He received his training from his father and succeeded him as organist of St. George's Church, Worcester, in 1885. He earned recognition for his Imperial March, composed in 1897 for Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee, and for his Enigma Variations. His most popular works are his five marches, the first of which is what famous song? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There's such a difference between saying a thing yourself and hearing other people say it ... You may know a thing is so, but you can't help hoping other people don't quite think it is.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have other fish to fry— To have more important or more interesting things to do or attend to. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Elmo's Day (2019)The day known as St. Elmo's Day is actually St. Erasmus's Day, in honor of a third-century Italian bishop who is thought to have suffered martyrdom around the year 304. Erasmus was a patron saint of sailors and was especially popular in the 13th century. Sometimes at sea on stormy nights, sailors will see a pale, brushlike spray of electricity at the top of the mast. In the Middle Ages, they believed that these fires were the souls of the departed, rising to glory through the intercession of St. Elmo. Such an electrical display is still referred to as "St. Elmo's Fire." More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: pointedapothegm - A terse, pointed saying or pithy maxim; it is pronounced AP-uh-them and may also be spelled apophthegm. More... downward-facing dog - Also called downward dog, it is a yoga pose in which the hands and feet are on the floor and one's rear end is pointed up so that the body is in an upside-down V. More... fastigate - To make pointed. More... innuendo - Latin for "by nodding at, pointing to," or "intimating," from in-, "toward," and nuere, "nod." More... | |