Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, July 28, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
dither
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Using Em Dashes with Missing TextOccasionally, dashes can be used to represent words or parts of words that are omitted from a sentence. These can be intentional omissions, as for censorship purposes, or because the missing text is unknown. If only a part of a word is missing, how many em dashes in a row are used to indicate the missing letters? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 HarlequinadeHarlequinade was a type of theatrical performance popular in 18th-century Britain. It was a slapstick adaptation of the commedia dell'arte, itself a 16th-century Italian comedy tradition featuring stock characters in improvised performances. A typical Harlequinade showcased a series of interwoven scenes culminating in a skit about the clever protagonist Harlequin and his love interest, Columbine. Which Harlequinade character became so popular that he remains instantly recognizable today? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
01.jpg) Thomas Cromwell Is Executed (1540)Arguably the architect of the Reformation, Cromwell was an English statesman who gained nearly complete control of the government as the closest advisor of King Henry VIII of England. Cromwell abused his power but only fell from Henry's favor after convincing him to marry Anne of Cleves, whom Henry found unattractive. After the marriage fizzled, Anne was sent away with a generous pension, but Cromwell was beheaded—on the same day that Henry did what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Malcolm Lowry (1909)Lowry was an English writer known for his articulation of the spiritual desolation of the modern individual. His reputation rests on the semi-autobiographical 1947 novel Under the Volcano. Set in Mexico—from which Lowry was once deported—it recounts the last day of a dispirited, alcoholic, former British consul. Though critically praised, it received popular recognition only after Lowry's death—probably from the effects of alcoholism—at 47. What rumors surround his cause of death? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Certainly virtue is like precious odors, most fragrant when they are incensed, or crushed: for prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue.Francis Bacon (1561-1626) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
pester (someone) for (something)— To continually annoy someone with requests for something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Dodge City Days (2020)Dodge City's name alone is enough to conjure up memories of the Old West for the residents of Kansas and the surrounding states who come here to celebrate Dodge City Days every summer. There are staged shootouts between "Marshal Dillon" and the bad guys, a rodeo, a horse show, and parades featuring costumed characters from the Old West on horseback. In recent years the festival has featured entertainment by top country-and-western music stars, and the events have expanded to include a golf tournament, auto racing, and other decidedly non-traditional activities. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: scalesmechanical drawing - One made with scales, rulers, and compasses. More... ctenoid - Means "resembling a thin-toothed comb"—like the scales of some fish. More... level - Based on Latin libella, a diminutive of libra, "balance; scales." More... scab - First pertained to any skin disease in which pustules or scales were formed, and is from Old Norse skabbr, "crust over a wound." More... | |