Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, August 20, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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clairvoyance
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Cumulative AdjectivesWhen multiple adjectives are used in a sentence, they are sometimes separated by commas. What are "cumulative adjectives," and why aren't they separated by commas? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 PaternostersA paternoster is a passenger elevator that consists of a series of doorless compartments suspended on loop of slow-moving chain that continuously advances. Passengers must step on and off the elevator while it is in motion. Introduced in 1884 as the "Cyclic Elevator," it became popular in Europe but eventually fell out of favor due to serious safety concerns. Paternoster is Latin for "our father," another name for the Lord's Prayer. Why are paternosters named after a Christian prayer? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Cease-Fire Declared in Iran-Iraq War (1988)On September 22, 1980, Iraqi forces invaded Iran, which was still struggling in the aftermath of its revolution. The resulting war—ostensibly a territorial dispute—turned into a bloody stalemate that saw the first widespread use of chemical warfare since World War I. An estimated 1.5 million people were killed in the conflict. After nearly eight years, the United Nations mandated a cease-fire. Both sides held thousands of prisoners of war for years. When were the last prisoners exchanged? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Benjamin Harrison (1833)The grandson of a US president, Harrison practiced law in Indiana before leading a volunteer regiment in the Civil War. He made two unsuccessful bids for the Indiana governorship before gaining a seat in the US Senate. In the 1888 presidential election, he defeated incumbent US President Grover Cleveland, though Cleveland won the popular vote. His association with unpopular tariffs cost him an 1892 re-election and brought Cleveland back. Why did his children refuse to attend his second wedding? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril.Sun Tzu (544 BC-496 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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put food on the table— To earn enough money to provide the basic necessities for oneself and (often) one's family. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Stephen's Day (Hungary) (2021)The founding of Hungary is commemorated on August 20, which is also the feast day of the founder of the country, St. Stephen of Hungary (c. 975-1038). He assumed the kingship in 1000 and worked to unite the various clans into a single Christian state. In 1950, the day was changed to Constitution Day by the communist regime, but it began celebrating St. Stephen again in 1990. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: yesterdayhestern, hesternal - Hestern or hesternal means "pertaining to yesterday." More... nudiustertian - Pertaining to the day before yesterday. More... pridian - "Of or relating to a previous day or yesterday; former." More... yesterday - The yester of yesterday and yesteryear was a word on its own, meaning "yesterday," but by Old English it had become a collocation with "day." More... | |