Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, October 1, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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poltroon
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Types of Prepositional IdiomsPrepositional idioms combine prepositions with verbs, nouns, or phrases to create idiomatic expressions. What two categories can these expressions be divided into? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 False FriendsFalse friends are words that look or sound the same in different languages but have different meanings. Unlike false cognates, which are completely unrelated, false friends may have a shared origin. For example, gift has a far more sinister German meaning—poison—than it does in English, though both languages derive the word from the same Germanic root. How might a new Spanish speaker worsen her situation by mistakenly using the word embarazada to indicate that she is embarrassed? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Honeymooners Premiers on CBS (1955)The Honeymooners was a short-lived American sitcom based on sketches by comedian Jackie Gleason. It starred Gleason and Audrey Meadows as a struggling working class couple in New York—a drastic departure from other popular comedies of the era that depicted their characters in comfortable, middle-class, suburban environments. Though The Honeymooners was cancelled after just 39 episodes, it has been aired for decades in syndication. What animated TV series did Gleason's show inspire? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz (1903)A Russian-American virtuoso pianist, Horowitz made his debut in Russia at 17. Within years, he was touring internationally, with much success. He eventually settled in the US, where his extraordinary technical virtuosity made him one of the most popular pianists of his time. Always susceptible to nervous strain, in 1953 he decided to quit performing publicly. He returned to the stage in 1965 and occasionally thereafter until his death. Why did Horowitz's father lie about his son's birthday? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 When people ask for time, it's always for time to say no. Yes has one more letter in it, but it doesn't take half as long to say.Edith Wharton (1862-1937) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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the outside world— The people, culture, ideas, or experiences beyond an enclosed, sheltered, or remote place, situation or environment. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Nigeria National Day (2025)Also known as Independence Day, this national holiday commemorates the autonomy of Nigeria that officially began October 1, 1960, after being under British control since 1900. Nigeria became a federal republic with a new constitution on October 1, 1963. In 1966 some military officers staged a coup and ruled until other army officers overthrew them in 1975. Civilian rule was restored on the anniversary of freedom, October 1, 1979. The city of Lagos was the capital until 1986, when the government center moved to Abuja. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sacksachet - Etymologically, a "little sack"—a small packet of perfumed matter. More... cul-de-sac - Literally French for "bottom of a sack," it also means "situation from which there is no escape"; it can be pluralized as cul-de-sacs or culs-de-sac. More... gunny - From Sanskrit goni, "sack," it is the material used for sacks, made from jute or sunn-hemp. More... haversack, knapsack, rucksack - Haversack is from German Haber, "oats," and Sack, "bag, sack"; knapsack is from German knapper, "to bite (food)" and zak, "sack"; rucksack comes from German Rucken, "back," and sack. More... | |