Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, November 24, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
onerous
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Defining Correlative ConjunctionsCorrelative conjunctions, or "paired conjunctions," are sets of conjunctions that are always used together. Like coordinating conjunctions, they join words, phrases, or independent clauses of similar or equal importance and structure. Unlike coordinating conjunctions, they can only join two elements together, no more. What are some of the most common correlative conjunctions? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Yongle EncyclopediaIn 1403, Ming Dynasty emperor Yongle commissioned a massive encyclopedia project in an attempt to preserve Chinese culture and literature. About 8,000 texts were incorporated into the compendium, which covers an array of subjects including history, philosophy, art, science, and religion. Two thousand scholars worked to compile the encyclopedia, and the finished product contained nearly 23,000 manuscript rolls, or chapters, divided into more than 11,000 volumes. How many volumes survive today? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Mysterious Hijacker Parachutes from Plane with $200,000 Ransom (1971)To this day, the true identity of the well-dressed man calling himself Dan Cooper—reported in the press as D. B. Cooper—who hijacked a passenger jet and then parachuted from the airborne Boeing 727 with a $200,000 ransom, remains a mystery. Despite numerous leads and a great deal of media attention, the mystery man's true identity and whereabouts continue to elude investigators, and the bulk of the money has never been recovered. What are some theories about who he was and what became of him? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Grace Horsley Darling (1815)On September 7, 1838, Darling spotted the wrecked SS Forfarshire from a window in the lighthouse that her father kept on the Farne Islands. The ship had foundered on rocks during a storm and broken in half. The weather was too rough for a lifeboat, so Darling and her father rescued survivors in a rowboat. Darling was celebrated as a national hero and became the subject of legends and even a poem by William Wordsworth. How many people were on the Forfarshire when it went down? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The worst slave-owners were those who were kind to their slaves, and so prevented the horror of the system being realized by those who suffered from it, and understood by those who contemplated it.Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
be on a rampage— To be causing great destruction, disruption, or chaos; to be behaving very violently or aggressively. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Jizo Ennichi (2021)Tradition calls for Japanese Buddhists to honor Kshitigarba Jizo on the 24th day of each month with a ritual known as Jizo Ennichi. Kshitigarba Jizo is a Bodhisattva, or "Buddha-to-be." Among Japanese Buddhists, he is known for helping children, women in labor, and the wicked. He is also believed to participate in ushering in the souls of the faithful when they die. His statue is most often found outside temples, where he can guide both the dead and the living. Shrines in his honor are set up along roadsides, since he protects travelers as well. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: highesttop note - The highest in a piece of music or in a singer's vocal range. More... paramount, tantamount - Paramount means "primary, top," and tantamount means "equivalent to, same as"; paramount first meant "highest in jurisdiction." More... prime - Unusual since it can have virtually opposite meanings: "preliminary, basic" or "lowest"—as well as "finest" and "highest." More... supreme - Ultimately from Latin supra, "above," which begat supremus, "highest." More... | |