Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, April 25, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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opprobrious
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Absolute PhrasesAn absolute phrase (also known as an absolute construction) is a grammatically independent group of words that serves to modify an entire sentence. Because an absolute phrase is not an integral part of the sentence, how is it always set apart? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Heirloom PlantsAn heirloom plant is an open-pollinated cultivar that was commonly grown during earlier periods in human history, but which is not used in modern large-scale agriculture. Most food crops are now grown in huge, monocultural plots owned by corporations, and few varieties of each type of crop are grown. The increasing popularity of heirloom gardening can be seen as a reaction to this trend. Why is 1951 a key year for heirloom gardeners? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 18-Year-Old Recalled From English School to Become King of Swaziland (1986)During his 61-year rule as monarch, King Sobhuza II of Swaziland had 210 children by at least 70 wives. When Sobhuza died in 1982, one of his sons, Prince Makhosetive Dlamini, was selected as his successor. Four years later, Dlamini was crowned King Mswati III—just months before he was scheduled to take his final exams at his private English boarding school. Mswati's power as monarch is nearly absolute, and he has been criticized for abuses of his rule and for what personal indulgences? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March (1287)Mortimer was imprisoned in 1322 for opposing King Edward II, but he escaped to France. When Edward II's queen, Isabella, came to France in 1325, Mortimer became her lover. Together they invaded England in 1326 and routed Edward, whom they forced to abdicate and later had murdered. Having secured the crown for young Edward III, Mortimer, with Isabella, virtually ruled England and acquired great wealth. In 1330, he was seized by Edward III, convicted by Parliament, and executed by what means? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 One may be continually abusive without saying any thing just; but one cannot be always laughing at a man without now and then stumbling on something witty.Jane Austen (1775-1817) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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glimmer of hope— A minute indication that something may improve, succeed, or turn out for the best in the end. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Anzac Day (2021)A national holiday in Australia and New Zealand, Anzac Day takes its name from the initial letters of "Australia and New Zealand Army Corps." It commemorates the landing of the Anzac troops on the Gallipoli Peninsula in European Turkey on April 25, 1915, during World War I. Like Memorial Day in the US, this day is celebrated with veterans' parades and church services. Observed as a holiday since 1920, Anzac Day now honors those who have died in both world wars as well as in Korea and Vietnam. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: rollingbeachcomber - A long wave rolling in from the sea. More... sprag - A block placed behind a car wheel to keep it from rolling down a hill. More... keep the ball rolling - An allusion to rugby or bandy. More... voluble - "Flowing with speech, talkative"; such a person has words "rolling" off their tongue. More... | |