Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, May 2, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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sententious
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining MitigatorsMitigators, a subset of adverbs of degree, are adverbs or adverbials that modify adjectives and adverbs to reduce their intensity, making them seem less extreme or powerful. "Slightly" is an example of a mitigator. What are some others? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Queen Catherine de' MediciA member of the powerful Medici family, Catherine married Henry II in 1533, and together they had 10 children. She became queen when Henry inherited the crown in 1547. Though he largely excluded her from state affairs, she was thrust into the political arena upon his death in 1559. As regent for her young sons, first Francis II and then Charles IX, she determined state policy to a considerable extent. For that reason, she is generally blamed for what massacre carried out under Charles IX's rule? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 "Nessie" Reported for the First Time (1933)More than 700 ft (213 m) deep, Loch Ness is the largest freshwater lake in the UK by volume. This makes it the perfect hiding place for a prehistoric creature—or so believers say. Though the legend of the Loch Ness Monster dates back to at least 565 BCE, modern accounts of "Nessie" date only to 1933, the year a local newspaper began reporting sightings of a fearsome, dragon-like creature in the lake. What natural phenomenon, known as a seiche, may be responsible for some of the sightings? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Yongle Emperor (1360)Born Zhu Di, the Yongle Emperor was the favorite son of the founder of China's Ming dynasty. He spent his youth developing a military career but was passed over for the throne. He rebelled and seized the throne from his nephew in 1402. As emperor, he greatly extended China's scope and influence. He moved the capital to Beijing, built the Forbidden City, and sponsored the compilation of an immense encyclopedia of Chinese culture and history. What was the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 If you know what a man's doing, get in front of him; but if you want to guess what he's doing, keep behind him.Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have (some/any) qualms about (something or someone)— To have some or certain hesitations, apprehensions, uneasiness, or pangs of conscience (about something or someone). (Also often used in the negative to mean the opposite.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Festival of Sant' Efisio (2025)The Sagra di Sant' Efisio at Cagliari, in Sardinia, Italy, commemorates the martyrdom of a 3rd-century Roman general who was converted to Christianity and credited with saving the town from the plague. On May 1, a procession accompanies a statue of St. Efisio through the streets of Cagliari to the church of Pula, the town where he suffered martyrdom. Three days later, the statue returns to Cagliari. Several thousand pilgrims, wearing costumes that date from the 17th century and earlier, take part in the procession, which culminates in a parade down Cagliari's main avenue. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: refugeasylum - Comes from Greek asulon, "refuge," from asulos, "inviolable." More... bast - A word for an asylum, refuge, or sanctuary. More... harbor - First meant "shelter" and "lodging," and that is how the word first entered English place-names, as a "place of shelter; refuge" for a crowd of people. A port is a haven for vessels and it is equipped for loading and unloading ships, while a harbor is a haven for vessels but does not necessarily have onshore facilities. More... redoubt - Has no connection to "doubt," but comes from French redoute and Latin reductus, "hidden place, refuge, stronghold." More... | |