Daily Content Archive

(as of Monday, August 21, 2017)
Word of the Day

smug

Definition:(adjective) Exhibiting or feeling great or offensive satisfaction with oneself or with one's situation; self-righteously complacent.
Synonyms:self-satisfied
Usage: On his face was the smug look of a toad breakfasting on fat marsh flies.
Daily Grammar Lesson

Conjunctions

Conjunctions are used to express relationships between things in a sentence, link different clauses together, and to combine sentences. There are four main types of conjunctions—what are they? More...
Article of the Day

The Kea

The kea, a type of parrot endemic to New Zealand, is a crow-sized omnivore that typically feeds on plants, insects, and other birds. Dubbed "the clown of the mountains," it is a curious and playful bird and has been known to fly off with small items left unguarded by their human owners. Their population has declined considerably, largely due to the fact that the New Zealand government once paid a bounty for kea bills. The birds were targeted because they occasionally prey on what large mammal? More...
This Day in History

Philippine Opposition Leader Benigno Aquino, Jr., Is Assassinated (1983)

Aquino, leader of the Philippines' Liberal Party, was planning to run for president in 1972 when Ferdinand Marcos, the incumbent, declared martial law and had Aquino arrested on inflated charges. Aquino served eight years in prison, at one point demonstrating against his sentence with a 40-day hunger strike. In 1980, he was released to go to the US for heart-bypass surgery. After three years in exile, he returned to the Philippines and was immediately assassinated. Why had Aquino gone back? More...
Today's Birthday

William "Count" Basie (1904)

Basie was an American jazz pianist and composer who became one of the premier swing bandleaders of his time. After working in dance halls and vaudeville in New York City, Basie moved to Kansas City, a major jazz center, where he formed his own band. Under his leadership, they broadcast from the Reno Club in Kansas City, where a radio announcer dubbed him "Count." According to one story, the band came up with what signature song while improvising to fill time on the radio show? More...
Quotation of the Day
The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation's greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable, especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine whether we use power or power uses us.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

Idiom of the Day

be hard hit (by something)

To be adversely affected (by something) to a great degree; to suffer financial losses (as the result of something). More...
Today's Holiday

Salzburg Festival (2023)

Although the Salzburg Festival features musical events by a wide variety of composers and performances by internationally celebrated musicians, conductors and singers, the festival has always paid special homage to Mozart. The festival takes place at the end of July and through most of August at different venues throughout Salzburg—most of the operatic and large orchestral pieces are performed in the Festspielhaus, chamber music concerts are usually given in the hall of the Mozarteum, and the Residenz is the scene for serenade concerts held by candlelight. More...
Word Trivia

Today's topic: official

brevet - An official or authoritative message in writing. More...

provost - Etymologically, an official "placed before" or "put in charge" of others, from Latin praepositus, "superintendent." More...

bailiwick - Comes from bailie, "custody," and -wick, "function of an official" or "place of jurisdiction." More...

probate - The official proving of a will, from Latin probatum, "thing proved." More...

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