Daily Content Archive

(as of Thursday, October 15, 2020)
Word of the Day

staid

Definition:(adjective) Characterized by sedate dignity and often a strait-laced sense of propriety.
Synonyms:serious, sober, quiet, calm, grave, steady, composed, solemn
Usage: I instinctively stood up a little straighter when the staid duke entered the parlor.
Daily Grammar Lesson

Modal Verbs that Indicate the Future

Because modal auxiliary verbs can be quite similar in how they are used, it is sometimes unclear when it's more appropriate to use one instead of another. For instance, "will" and "shall" can both be used to indicate the future. But "shall" can only be used to form the future tense when the subject is in what person? More...
Article of the Day

Hysteria

The term hysteria has been in use for millennia, but its meaning has changed dramatically over the years. While mental health experts have largely abandoned the designation of hysteria in favor of more modern diagnoses like conversion disorder, somatization disorder, and histrionic personality disorder, hysteria was once used as a catch-all diagnosis for women exhibiting a variety of symptoms attributed to uterine disturbances. Hippocratic texts advocated what cure for female hysteria? More...
This Day in History

Pierre Laval Is Executed for Treason (1945)

In 1942, Laval, a French politician who had advocated collaboration with Nazi Germany, came to power. His government drafted laborers for German factories, cooperated in the deportation of Jews to death camps, and instituted a rule of terror. After France was liberated by the Allies, Laval fled. He was eventually captured and returned to France, where he was convicted of treason and sentenced to death. How did Laval attempt to change his fate? More...
Today's Birthday

Sir Pelham Grenville "P. G." Wodehouse (1881)

Wodehouse was an English-American comic writer who enjoyed enormous success during his more than 70-year career. His works are set in Edwardian England and feature idiotic youths, feckless debutantes, redoubtable aunts, and stuffy businessmen. His most famous characters are the young bachelor Bertie Wooster and his unflappable valet Jeeves. Although Wodehouse was knighted shortly before his death, the character of Bertie did cost him entry into the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1967. Why? More...
Quotation of the Day
The sudden disappointment of a hope leaves a scar which the ultimate fulfillment of that hope never entirely removes.

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

Idiom of the Day

shaken up

Greatly startled, shocked, or upset. More...
Today's Holiday

Dahlonega Gold Rush Days (2025)

Gold Rush Days are a celebratory reminder in Dahlonega, Georgia, of the town's heyday as a gold-rush town. The nation's first major gold rush was here in 1828, and the area around Dahlonega boomed—a federal mint built in 1838 operated for 23 years and coined more than $6 million. Mining continued into the beginning of the 20th century, and today visitors can pan for gold at several locations. The name of the town is derived from the Cherokee name Talonega, meaning "golden." The festival includes arts and crafts exhibits, country cooking, and hog-calling contests. More...
Word Trivia

Today's topic: vomit

brash - A euphemism for vomit. More...

retch, wretch - Retch is the verb to vomit or gag; wretch is a noun for a pitiable person. More...

spew - First meant "vomit." More...

vomit - From Latin vomere. More...

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