Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, April 11, 2023)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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scapegrace
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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"There" as a Dummy Pronoun"There" is primarily used as a dummy pronoun in circumstances where the sentence is explaining that a person, place, or thing exists. When the word "there" is being used in this manner, it is often referred to as what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Minerva, Goddess of WisdomIn Roman religion, Minerva was the goddess of wisdom and war, as well as of handicrafts and the arts. Probably of Etruscan origin, she was worshiped in various parts of ancient Rome, most notably with Jupiter and Juno in the great Capitoline temple. Her temple on the Aventine Hill was a meeting place for skilled artisans, actors, and writers. Minerva came to be identified with what Greek goddess? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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_.jpg) Attempted Overthrow of Venezuelan President Chavez (2002)In 2002, anger over Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's reform plans led to an attempted coup d'état. On April 11, Chavez was detained and Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce President Pedro Carmona was installed as interim president. Carmona quickly dissolved the National Assembly and the Supreme Court and voided Venezuela's constitution, but within 48 hours, the Presidential Guard retook the presidential palace, and Chavez was reinstalled as president. What happened to Carmona? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Christopher Smart (1722)A Cambridge graduate, Smart settled in London and pursued a literary career—writing poetry, editing a humorous magazine, and producing plays. His two best known works are A Song to David, an inspirational piece rife with superb imagery, and Jubilate Agno, an idiosyncratic and often anthologized paean to his cat, Jeoffry, that only survives in fragments. Both were written while he was confined in an asylum for a religious mania. What unconventional pseudonym did he sometimes use? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I well believe it, to unwilling ears; None love the messenger who brings bad news.Sophocles (496 BC-406 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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don't go there— Don't get into that topic of conversation; I don't want to talk about that. Used humorously, the phrase usually implies that the speaker has a potentially scandalous, sensitive, or otherwise complicated association with the topic. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Galveston Island FeatherFest (2023)Begun in 2002, the Galveston Island FeatherFest is intended to celebrate the "birds and natural heritage of the Upper Texas Coastal area." Some 300 species of birds are found on Galveston Island in the springtime as they stop off during their migration north. The FeatherFest allows bird enthusiasts the chance to go on field trips to photograph and watch the birds. Prominent environmental writers, naturalists, and artists are the leaders of these field trips. Seminars, workshops, and lectures on the wildlife in the community are also available, and a FeatherFest Photo Contest is held. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: recentAmazonian epoch - The Amazonian epoch is the most recent of the Martian geologic epochs, from 1,800 years ago to the present. More... grey, gray - The distinction in spelling between British grey and American gray is recent, popping up in the 20th century. More... Pleistocene, Pliocene, Miocene, Oligocene - Epochs indicating periods in the Earth's geology; Pleistocene means "most recent," Pliocene means "more recent," Miocene means "moderately recent," and Oligocence means "but a little recent." More... neoteric - Used to describe a person, especially an author, it means one belongs to modern/recent times—but it might also refer to a person having a modern outlook or new ideas; when used of things, it indicates that they are modern, new, or recent. More... | |