Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, January 1, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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burgeon
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Conjunctive Adverbs and PunctuationWhen we join two independent clauses with a conjunctive adverb, they are traditionally separated with a semicolon. It is also acceptable to use a period and keep them as two discrete sentences. Either way, the conjunctive adverb typically begins the second clause and is followed by what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Narmer PaletteDating from about the 31st century BCE, the Narmer Palette has been called "the first historical document in the world." The 25-inch (63-cm), shield-shaped palette is carved from a single piece of flat siltstone and has survived 5,000 years in almost perfect condition. It contains some of the earliest known hieroglyphic inscriptions as well as the earliest known depictions of an Egyptian king. Some scholars believe it depicts what event that, according to tradition, took place under King Menes? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Times Square Ball Drops for the First Time (1908)In 1904, The New York Times moved its headquarters to what is now known as Times Square. That December, it held a New Year's Eve celebration that proved to be quite popular. A few years later, the newspaper created an illuminated time ball—then a well-known dockside device by which sailors set their ships' clocks—that would fall at midnight. The annual ball-drop outlived both the newspaper's address on the square and the use of time balls in general. What was Times Square's original name? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jerome David "J. D." Salinger (1919)Salinger published his first and only novel, The Catcher in the Rye, in 1951. An immediate success, it generated a cult-like dedication among readers. Though he also released a handful of short story collections, Salinger ceased publishing after 1963 and spent the rest of his life as a recluse in Cornish, New Hampshire. After his death in 2010, rumors swirled that he had left behind a number of finished works. According to one of Salinger's neighbors, how many novels did he complete? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Be not penny-wise; riches have wings, and sometimes they fly away of themselves.Francis Bacon (1561-1626) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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jack it in— To quit or abandon something, especially an endeavor or enterprise. Can also be worded as "jack in something." Primarily heard in UK. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Feast of St. Basil (2021)New Year's Day and the feast day for Agios Vasilis (St. Basil) are one and the same in Greece and Cyprus, and for all Orthodox Christians. Celebrations begin on New Year's Eve when Agios Vasilis is believed to visit each house. On New Year's Day, a cake called the Vassilopita, or "St. Basil's bread," is ceremoniously sliced, according to varying traditions going back to Byzantine times. A coin has been baked in the cake, and the person finding the coin will be the luckiest member of the family that year. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: weavenettles - Got their name because people used to weave them into nets. More... pretext - From Latin praetexere, "to disguise," from prae, "in front," and texere, "weave"—as something serving to conceal plans. More... texture - Once referred to a woven fabric, from Latin texere, "to weave." More... wasp - The insect traces back to an Indo-European root meaning "weave." More... | |