Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, June 2, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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give-and-take
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Superlative AdverbsSuperlative adverbs, like superlative adjectives, are used to describe differences among three or more people or things. What ending is added to the base adverb to form a superlative adverb? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Morgan le FayMorgan le Fay was an enchantress in Arthurian legend whose name first appeared in literature around 1150. A skilled healer and shape-shifter, she ruled Avalon, the island where King Arthur went to be healed after being mortally wounded in battle. Her magic was learned from books and the magician Merlin. In some accounts, she is Arthur's sister and enemy and seduces him to produce a son—Mordred—who later kills Arthur. The character of Morgan may have been inspired by what earlier Welsh goddess? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Birth of the Italian Republic (1946)During World War II, Italy was a monarchy in chaos. King Victor Emmanuel III had appointed Benito Mussolini prime minister in 1922 to avoid revolt, but, when war came, the two fought on opposite sides—Mussolini with the Axis and Victor Emmanuel with the Allies. Victor Emmanuel's history with Mussolini made the monarch unpopular after the war, and he abdicated in favor of his son, who ruled for 40 days before the Italian Republic was created by a referendum. Whom did it exile until 2002? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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.png) The Marquis de Sade (1740)Described by French poet Guillaume Apollinaire as "the freest spirit that has yet existed," the Marquis de Sade was a French novelist and philosopher infamous for his wildly liberal lifestyle and erotic writings. The term "sadism" derives from his depictions of violent behavior, and he spent decades in prisons and insane asylums for his scandalous actions. How did he try to incite a riot at the Bastille, where he was imprisoned just days before it was stormed by French revolutionaries? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Teach him to think for himself? Oh, my God, teach him rather to think like other people!Mary Shelley (1797-1851) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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lead nowhere— To ultimately yield or achieve no useful, beneficial, or successful result or outcome. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Elmo's Day (2021)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: rubbishbilge - Can mean "nonsense, rubbish." More... culch - Rubbish or refuse, or meat scraps. More... flathers - A synonym for rubbish or dirt. More... quisquilious, quisquiliary, quisquilian - Quisquilious and quisquiliary mean "having the nature of refuse or rubbish," and quisquilian means "consisting of trash or rubbish." More... | |