Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, June 20, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using the Present Perfect Tense with "For" and "Since"In English, we use the present perfect simple with the prepositions "for" and "since" when we speak about something that started in the past and is still true now. "For" is used to specify the duration of time leading up to the present. When is "since" used? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 CigarsCigars, tightly rolled bundles of cured tobacco, were being smoked by the Mayans as early as the 10th century. Spanish travelers to the Americas brought cigars back to Spain in the 16th century, and their popularity then spread throughout Europe. The word cigar, therefore, derives from the Mayan word for tobacco. What did US President John F. Kennedy reportedly do immediately before imposing the Cuban trade embargo that, among other things, prohibits US residents from purchasing Cuban cigars? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Battle of Chalons (451 CE)Perhaps one of the most important battles of late antiquity, the Battle of Chalons is known only from written records and its exact location remains a mystery, though it probably took place in northeastern France. In this battle, the Romans and Visigoths stopped the advance of the Huns under Attila and, some say, preserved Western civilization. The battle was brutal, and legend holds that the ghosts of the dead continued to fight for days. By some accounts, the battle was fought over what woman? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Errol Flynn (1909)As a young man, the Australian-born Flynn led an adventurous life, pursuing various careers in the Pacific before taking up acting in England. He soon became a Hollywood star, playing swashbuckling heroes in such films as Captain Blood and Robin Hood. Scandals involving drinking and womanizing marred his reputation, and his career faltered until a lauded return in The Sun Also Rises in 1957. Numerous legends surround the circumstances of his death. What were his last words? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Traveling is a fool's paradise. Our first journeys discover to us the indifference of places.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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not as black as (one) is painted— Not as evil, malicious, or malignant as one is described or believed to be. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Eritrean Martyrs' Day (2018)Following its defeat of Ethiopian government forces in 1991 to establish national independence, Eritrea instituted an official holiday to pay tribute to those who died for the country's liberation. Many Eritreans observe Martyrs' Day by filing into mass mourning processions that conclude at the "Martyrs' Graveyards" located throughout the country. In 1997, the government opened the National Martyrs' Park outside the capital city, Asmara, and individuals arrive to pay their respects to the dead by finding names engraved on the National Martyrs' Monument. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: tapfaucet - Probably comes from French fausset, meaning "bore, tap." More... tattoo - In the military sense—of a signal summoning soldiers to their quarters at night—it was originally written tap-too, from a Dutch word taptoe, meaning "close the tap" (of a cask), which was told to soldiers when they were expected to return to their quarters. More... tick, tickle - Tick, as in "sound of a clock," "mark of correctness," originally meant "light touch, tap," and its modern senses are recent developments; tickle is probably a derivative of this version of tick. More... tit for tat - Probably borrowed from Dutch tip for tap, "blow for blow." More... | |