Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, January 6, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
rebuff
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Punctuating Direct SpeechDirect speech refers to the direct quotation of something that someone else said. When we use direct speech in writing, how do we indicate it? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Brood ParasitesBrood parasites are organisms—usually birds—that manipulate a host, either of the same or a different species, into raising their young. The parasitic parent avoids the effort of rearing young by abandoning its eggs in the nest of a host bird. After hatching, the parasitic nestlings may kill or crowd out the host’s own offspring. The host will often continue to feed and care for the invasive chicks even when they do not resemble its young and may physically dwarf the host itself. Why? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Figure Skater Nancy Kerrigan Is Attacked (1994)Shortly before the 1994 Winter Olympics, Kerrigan was clubbed in the knee in an attack that had been planned by the ex-husband of Tonya Harding, one of Kerrigan's rivals for a place on the US Olympic team. Footage of Kerrigan's reaction to the attack was replayed heavily on television, and the story became a media sensation. Despite the injury, Kerrigan won an Olympic silver medal. Harding also performed, but poorly. Kerrigan's image suffered after she made what remarks about the gold medalist? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Heinrich Schliemann (1822)As a boy, Schliemann loved Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. After making his fortune, he devoted himself at the age of 36 to searching for the ruins of the ancient city of Troy, which played a prominent role in Homer's account of the Trojan War but was believed to be fictional. In 1873, Schliemann not only found the remains of Troy—verifying the Trojan War's place in history—but also uncovered the ruins of several other cities that had been built on the same site. Where did he find Troy? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 To those who view the voyage of life from the port of departure the bark that has accomplished any considerable distance appears already in close approach to the farther shore.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
the jet set— A group of wealthy individuals who travel globally, especially by private jet, to frequent fashionable resorts, social events, and the like. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Perchtenlauf (2021)The Perchtenlauf in Austria is usually held on Epiphany. The Perchten are old masks, usually of witches and fearsome animals, that have been handed down for generations. People wearing the masks run through the village beating drums, ringing bells, singing, shouting, and making as much noise as possible to scare winter away—an ancient custom that can be traced back to pre-Christian times. The procession of masked figures stops in the main square of the village and everyone begins to dance wildly, making even more noise than before. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: squeezeanguish, anxious, anxiety - Anguish, anxious, and anxiety come from Latin angere, "to choke, squeeze, strangle." More... kvetch - To complain chronically or habitually, from Yiddish kvetshn, "pinch, squeeze; complain." More... squash - As a verb, it is an alteration of quash, and means, generally, to "crush, squeeze, or suppress." More... tapioca - Comes from Tupi-Guarani tipi, "residue," and ok/og, "squeeze out." More... | |